Doctors and hospital managers have said urgent changes must be made to the way A&E units are run, or the whole system could collapse.
The College of Emergency Medicine and the Foundation Trust Network have expressed their fears about the pressure being placed upon A&E units across the country, with staffing and funding being key areas of concern.
Staffing issues
A&E attendances have risen by 50% in a decade and many NHS Trusts in England have started to miss the four-hour waiting time target, particularly during the winter months. This is demonstrated in the table below, which shows the figures for the week ending 7 April 2013:
|
Trust |
A&E unit |
% Patients seen in under 4 hours (target: 95%) |
| Weston Area Health
|
Weston General Hospital | 63.8 |
| Royal United Hospital, Bath
|
Royal United Hospital, Bath | 75.4 |
| North Bristol
|
Frenchay Hospital | 76 |
| Great Western Hospitals
|
Great Western Hospitals, Swindon
|
79.5 |
A review by the College of Emergency Medicine has attributed these failings to a shortage of middle-grade and senior doctors in A&E departments. The organisation says this problem has been further compounded by the amount of unnecessary attendances. It is thought between 15% and 30% of patients do not require A&E care and could instead be treated in a non-emergency setting.
Funding concerns
On the other hand, the Foundation Trust Network (FTN) has taken issue with the funding system in England. Under rules designed to reduce A&E admissions, those units seeing a rise in patients are penalised and only get paid 30% of the normal fee. This is costing some hospitals millions of pounds a year.
FTN chief executive Chris Hopson said: “Unless we can change the funding structure, the A&E system is going to fall over. We simply cannot carry on.”
Have you been harmed by the A&E crisis?
While ministers, doctors and managers continue to debate the A&E crisis, it is the patients who are being hurt the most. Many attend A&E in search of medical assistance, only to be mismanaged by medical professionals who do not have the time or resources to give them the care they so desperately need.
If you or your loved one has been harmed because of failings within an Accident and Emergency unit, you need to find out what options are available to you, as you could be the innocent victim of medical negligence. Contact us at Glynns to find out more.
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