Tag: latest performance figures

NHS ‘still in the depths of crisis’

“We remain extremely concerned about our patients and their safety and for the welfare of staff who are struggling”, RCEM says

Responding to the latest monthly Emergency Department performance figures for Scotland for January 2023, Dr John-Paul Loughrey, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said: “The monthly data make clear we are still in the depths of crisis.

“While it is true that the data for January 2023 show improvements when compared with December 2022, December was the worst month on record. We are relieved that we have mitigated against a repetition of December, but we remain extremely concerned about our patients and their safety, and for the welfare of staff who are struggling.

“January saw continued high numbers of extremely long waits; the third highest number of 12-hour waits on record. While the weekly data from February also show that we cannot let up in our requirement for substantial improvement.

“As the Scottish leadership election begins, tackling the crisis in Emergency Care as well as the crisis in the wider health and social care system must be a priority for the next First Minister. In 2022, a total of 55,095 patients waited 12-hours or more in an Emergency Department in Scotland.

“Analysis by the College shows that consequently, in 2022, there were an estimated 765 patient deaths associated with these dangerously long waiting times – equal to an estimated average of 64 each month. This is entirely unacceptable and a marker of a system that is not functioning as it should.

“To tackle this, in Scotland we urgently need a restoration of the acute bed base, that means opening an additional 1,000 staffed acute beds where safely possible.

“There are also significant shortfalls of staff in Scotland. The Emergency Medicine workforce needs at least 100 more consultants, as well as senior decision makers, ACPs/ANPs/Physician Associates, junior doctors, and vital nurses.

“We welcomed the expansion of Emergency Medicine medical training places in Scotland by 10, but this expansion is considerably short of what is required and there has yet to be any commitment to maintain this each year.

“This winter continues to be the most challenging yet for the NHS in Scotland. A failure for meaningful action now will prolong the risk to patient safety and maintain these dangerously long waiting times at the detriment to staff who are already burned out and exhausted. 2023 must be the year that we see political will translated into action that improves patient care and conditions for staff.”

RCEM: ‘Now is the time for an Urgent and Emergency Care plan’

Responding to the latest Emergency Department performance figures published by NHS England for April 2022, Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “The crisis in Urgent and Emergency Care continues to deteriorate.

“The data show 24,000 patients were delayed in an Emergency Department for 12-hours or more (from decision to admit to admission). This is a staggering and grim number and should seriously alarm all political and health leaders. Patients are coming to harm; now is the time for an Urgent and Emergency Care plan to tackle this crisis.

“The situation is more serious than it has ever been. Patients face long waits for an ambulance, long waits in an ambulance outside an Emergency Department, and long waits in the Emergency Department. These long waits delay care and treatment to patients who may be in a critical condition, and they prevent our highly skilled paramedics from returning to the community and responding to urgent and emergency calls.

“At the heart of the issue are reduced bed capacity in hospitals mixed with an increase in the number long-stay patients – social care patients who do not have sufficient support to return home or to the community – and widespread workforce shortages throughout the system.

“To tackle the crisis the government must publish a fully funded workforce plan that includes measures to retain existing staff, and open 10,000 more beds across the UK.”

Responding to the government’s announcement of more funding for nursing in care homes, Dr Henderson continued: “This announcement is welcome. Social Care nurses have long been undervalued and under-acknowledged. This increase in pay is a welcome step towards showing them the appreciation and gratitude they highly deserve.

“However, it is a shame to see that this increase in funding is limited to NHS-funded nursing care. The entire social care workforce deserves the same acknowledgement and reward. It is critical that during this crisis we attract and retain social care workers and value their time and effort by paying a wage that reflects the significance of their role.

“Good social care supports an efficient health service. Good social care can help prevent A&E attendances. Good social care will support patients moving in and out of hospital in a timely way. Crucially, good social care frees up space for other patients and increases flow throughout the hospital.”

A & E performance reaches record lows once again as fears grow for coming weeks

The latest weekly update of Emergency Department activity and waiting time statistics show:

  • Four-hour performance was second lowest on record at 69.7%
  • There were 24,009 attendances
  • 7,285 patients were delayed by four hours or more, equal to one-third of patients
  • 1,803 patients were delayed by eight hours or more
  • 598 patients were delayed by 12 hours or more

Responding to these figures, Dr John Thomson, Vice President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine Scotland, said:“The latest data is shocking, as performance sinks to record lows once again. Staff are working tirelessly in Emergency Departments, and we anticipate pressures to mount further as covid surges across Scotland, and with this performance to drop even more.

“We are deeply concerned. Our fear is that staff absences due to covid may prevent the health service from delivering effective care. The current pressures are already leading to long waits for patients, ambulance handover delays, dangerous crowding and corridor care. If we lose staff to covid, these consequences will be further exacerbated. We know that long waits in Emergency Departments threaten patient safety and can lead to avoidable harm or death.

“The crisis is extremely worrying. The coming weeks will be a significant challenge, morale is already plummeting as concern for whether the health service in Scotland will be able to cope is escalating.

“We hope the public understand the unprecedented pressures facing the health service and the crisis that is deepening each week. Staff are doing all they can to deliver effective care and to keep patients safe.

“We urge the public to be cautious in the coming weeks, to use face masks, avoid crowded places, get tested and isolate when they have symptoms, and crucially, to get vaccinated or boosted – these steps go a small way to alleviating pressures on Emergency Departments and the wider health service.”