The Royal College for Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has spoken out regarding a “large and systemic problem” in NHS England’s accident and emergency services caused by the continuing lack of hospital beds, meaning hospitals are continuing to fail in meeting the four-hour rule. Dr Simon Howse, a policy research manager at RCEM, suggested that many NHS hospitals were under-resourced and thus unable to work effectively.
He stated, “they are trying to treat a growing and more needy population with fewer and fewer beds.” He also explained how older generations, namely the over-75s, were coming to hospitals with frequently more complex needs, meaning their treatment can often take more time in a hospital bed than the treatment of someone in their 20s, for example. Dr Howse highlighted the problem further with the claim that England now has fewer hospital beds per capita than Chile, Estonia and Turkey.In 2015-16, 85% of patients were seen within four hours, while Dr Howse states some hospitals are currently recording rates between 50 and 60 per cent. However, these latter figures have yet to be published. Howse emphasised that rates below 80% would mean people were “being seriously put at risk”.
NHS England has admitted that some hospitals are under pressure but insists they continue to cope. Some hospitals now publish live waiting times and current patient levels to dissuade those going to A&E who do not urgently need medical attention. However, while it is fair to accept some people who go to A&E may not always be “in great need”, Dr Howse argued that there was no evidence of more people wrongly using NHS services than from 10 years ago. In fact, he argued, studies show the levels of unnecessary visits to be “very, very low”.The number of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E has also increased at an alarming rate. In 2013-14, 260 people endured such a waiting period, but this number increased to 1,271 in 2015-16. Previously, Duncan Lewis Solicitors has criticised the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, for his proposals to only apply the four-hour rule to patients who are urgently in need, stating that this would lower the standard of the NHS.
As people are becoming more informed, there has been a decrease in unnecessary A&E visits, therefore it is arguably more concerning that hospitals are still failing to meet the four-hour rule. This demonstrates that the problem does not lie in people wrongly using A&E services, but in fact in a serious lack of resources in an increasingly stretched NHS.Ashwati Menon is a Caseworker in the Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Departments. She is experienced in assisting on numerous clinical negligence claims, including, but not limited to, orthopaedic claims, gastroenterology and cardiac related injuries.
You can contact Duncan Lewis for any of your clinical negligence claims. Please note that limitation periods apply to these claims. Usually there is a three year limitation period that applies from the date of the negligent act. In some instances, it can run from the date you became aware of the negligent act. You must ensure that court proceedings are commenced before the expiry of the limitation period that applies to your case or you will almost certainly lose the right to pursue your claim (as the Court only allows claimants to bring claims after the limitation period expires in very exceptional cases). For expert legal advice on Medical Negligence Claims, call Duncan Lewis clinical negligence solicitors on 0333 772 0409.
