News
No change to waiting times target, Keogh tells MPs Public awareness campaign will discourage people from attending emergency departments needlessly
Union stages protest in Belfast as patient numbers soar A MAJOR incident was declared at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital last month as staff struggled to clear a backlog of emergency department patients. Extra staff, including nurses, were drafted in at the beginning of January to deal with an ‘unexpected’ surge in demand, sparking a protest the following day that involved dozens of Unison members. Hospital bosses praised staff for acting ‘professionally and quickly during the difficult situation’. At one stage, 42 people were said to be waiting on trolleys, while others were in the recovery area or fracture clinic. EMERGENCY NURSE
though this is especially difficult during winter months. ‘People have to continue to try to meet the target. It is unfair for patients to wait longer than they should.’ He told the cross-party group of MPs on the committee that attendances were lower during January and February, but that pressure was increased by a rise in the number of older patients with complex conditions who required care. Patient pathway Professor Keogh continued: ‘Everybody is looking to come up with a suite of measures that takes into account the whole patient pathway.’ NHS England later confirmed that attempts to devise such measures are part of the on-going urgent and emergency care review, and that factors such as ambulance times and how decisions to admit patients are made may be taken into account.
This year’s model
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By Nick Triggle EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT (ED) staff must strive to meet the four-hour waiting time target even if they find it difficult, NHS leaders say. Defeat over the issue should not be accepted, NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh and acute care director Keith Willett told the House of Commons health select committee, adding that help to relieve the pressure is on its way. The NHS in England missed the 95% target in the first two weeks of January, as it did in the first two weeks of December. Type one units have not met the mark since July, according to the weekly data from NHS England. In response to a question from Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George about whether the directive should be regarded as a ‘guide or straightjacket’, Professor Willett said there should be no let up by ED staff trying to meet the target even
One way NHS England could free up hospital resources, Professor Keogh said, is to introduce more comprehensive arrangements for private providers to carry out elective operations during the busiest periods. He also said that the £3.8 billion Better Care Fund, which is currently being piloted for launch in April 2015, will encourage local authorities and the NHS to work together on integrated care projects. Meanwhile, NHS England has developed its first national public awareness campaign, called ‘The earlier, the better’. The poster campaign, which was launched last month, encourages people to address their health problems early so that they will not need to visit EDs. The posters appear on billboards, bus stops and in shopping centres. ‘We have to do better at helping people stay well instead of just picking up the pieces when they fall seriously ill,’ said Professor Willett. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said the campaign was timely. But he added: ‘In too many parts of the country, people cannot get support because there are not enough nursing staff. ‘District nurse posts have been reduced by 1,312 since 2010, and these sorts of staffing shortfalls undermine community models of care.’
IDEAS ABOUT how to relieve pressure on emergency care should be tested on computer models and simulations, according to a report published last month by the Cumberland Initiative. The report, compiled by former chief executive of the NHS Confederation Mike Farrar and former health minister Lord Warner, suggests that computer modelling provides a safe, inexpensive way to try new methods while avoiding bed closures and changes in services. ■■ Emergency Simulation: How Modelling is Resuscitating NHS Urgent and Unscheduled Care is available at tinyurl.com/kfuywes February 2014 | Volume 21 | Number 9
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No change to waiting times target, Keogh tells MPs Public awareness campaign will discourage people from attending emergency departments needlessly
Union stages protest in Belfast as patient numbers soar A MAJOR incident was declared at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital last month as staff struggled to clear a backlog of emergency department patients. Extra staff, including nurses, were drafted in at the beginning of January to deal with an ‘unexpected’ surge in demand, sparking a protest the following day that involved dozens of Unison members. Hospital bosses praised staff for acting ‘professionally and quickly during the difficult situation’. At one stage, 42 people were said to be waiting on trolleys, while others were in the recovery area or fracture clinic. EMERGENCY NURSE
though this is especially difficult during winter months. ‘People have to continue to try to meet the target. It is unfair for patients to wait longer than they should.’ He told the cross-party group of MPs on the committee that attendances were lower during January and February, but that pressure was increased by a rise in the number of older patients with complex conditions who required care. Patient pathway Professor Keogh continued: ‘Everybody is looking to come up with a suite of measures that takes into account the whole patient pathway.’ NHS England later confirmed that attempts to devise such measures are part of the on-going urgent and emergency care review, and that factors such as ambulance times and how decisions to admit patients are made may be taken into account.
This year’s model
iStock
By Nick Triggle EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT (ED) staff must strive to meet the four-hour waiting time target even if they find it difficult, NHS leaders say. Defeat over the issue should not be accepted, NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh and acute care director Keith Willett told the House of Commons health select committee, adding that help to relieve the pressure is on its way. The NHS in England missed the 95% target in the first two weeks of January, as it did in the first two weeks of December. Type one units have not met the mark since July, according to the weekly data from NHS England. In response to a question from Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George about whether the directive should be regarded as a ‘guide or straightjacket’, Professor Willett said there should be no let up by ED staff trying to meet the target even
One way NHS England could free up hospital resources, Professor Keogh said, is to introduce more comprehensive arrangements for private providers to carry out elective operations during the busiest periods. He also said that the £3.8 billion Better Care Fund, which is currently being piloted for launch in April 2015, will encourage local authorities and the NHS to work together on integrated care projects. Meanwhile, NHS England has developed its first national public awareness campaign, called ‘The earlier, the better’. The poster campaign, which was launched last month, encourages people to address their health problems early so that they will not need to visit EDs. The posters appear on billboards, bus stops and in shopping centres. ‘We have to do better at helping people stay well instead of just picking up the pieces when they fall seriously ill,’ said Professor Willett. RCN general secretary Peter Carter said the campaign was timely. But he added: ‘In too many parts of the country, people cannot get support because there are not enough nursing staff. ‘District nurse posts have been reduced by 1,312 since 2010, and these sorts of staffing shortfalls undermine community models of care.’
IDEAS ABOUT how to relieve pressure on emergency care should be tested on computer models and simulations, according to a report published last month by the Cumberland Initiative. The report, compiled by former chief executive of the NHS Confederation Mike Farrar and former health minister Lord Warner, suggests that computer modelling provides a safe, inexpensive way to try new methods while avoiding bed closures and changes in services. ■■ Emergency Simulation: How Modelling is Resuscitating NHS Urgent and Unscheduled Care is available at tinyurl.com/kfuywes February 2014 | Volume 21 | Number 9
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 10, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
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