Emergency medical doctors have sounded the alarm over an approaching winter disaster that they are saying is already placing sufferers in overstretched A&E departments in danger.
Practically all medics (94%) concern sufferers are coming to hurt due to the situations in A&E departments across the UK, in line with a snapshot survey of 83 medics from emergency departments from the Royal School of Emergency Drugs (RCEM). Most (87%) are usually not assured their departments will cope properly over the winter months, whereas 41% really feel much less ready for this winter in contrast with final yr.
Greater than four-fifths (83%) of the emergency medical doctors surveyed between 7 and 13 November stated sufferers have been being cared for in corridors, which may go away folks stranded for hours on trolleys or chairs, whereas greater than half (51%) had seen sufferers compelled to attend outdoors emergency departments in ambulances.
The president of the RCEM, Dr Adrian Boyle, stated: “It is a stark warning from these on the frontline. Clinicians are anxious and sufferers are unsafe. Winter is coming and it seems like we face an enormous disaster is each a part of the UK. We can not simply ignore winter and our sufferers.”
Boyle stated that messaging from the federal government that NHS workers wanted to work more durable and extra successfully wouldn’t work with out extra funding to ease pressures in A&E this winter, for instance by growing mattress numbers and enhancing assist for social care to maintain folks out of hospital.
“The federal government might have written off winter, however we haven’t. We are going to maintain highlighting the hurt, and what needs to be accomplished to eradicate it, and holding them to account for the unavoidable and unacceptable danger our sufferers are being uncovered to,” he stated.
An NHS England spokesperson stated its groups had been working onerous to “put the system in the absolute best place for this winter”, together with by means of respiratory syncytial virus, flu and Covid vaccine programmes.
“This winter is prone to be one other difficult one, which is why we now have requested all components of the NHS to work collectively to make sure that the security and dignity of all sufferers, whether or not they’re in hospital or at dwelling, is the primary precedence,” the spokesperson added.
Data released last week confirmed that in England in October 2024, 162,931 sufferers waited 12 hours or extra in main emergency departments, a rise of 33,919 from the earlier month, a couple of in each 10 sufferers who attended. That is the third highest month-to-month determine since comparable information started in 2010.
There have been 2.36 million A&E attendances final month, 6% greater than the earlier busiest October.
A Division of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated: “This authorities inherited a damaged NHS the place an annual winter disaster had turn into the norm. It can take time to show issues round however our motion to rapidly finish the junior medical doctors’ strike means for the primary time in three years NHS leaders are planning for winter moderately than making ready for strikes.
“We perceive the numerous considerations held by hardworking workers in regards to the pressures they face this winter. We’re already working with the trusts who are likely to face the toughest pressures throughout winter to make sure they’re higher ready this yr.
“The chancellor not too long ago introduced a close to £26bn enhance for the NHS over this yr and subsequent. Longer-term, by means of our 10-year well being plan, we are going to construct an NHS that’s match for the long run and delivers for sufferers all yr spherical.”
