23 ambulances queue with patients at crisis-hit A&E
A TOTAL of 23 ambulances had to queue outside one of the country’s busiest A&E units. Patients had to wait inside the vehicles for up to five-and-a-half hours before they got into hospital. Managers at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth said there had been an ‘unprecedented’ number of admissions. Many were suffering from chest infections and flu triggered by the sudden cold snap last week. Other A&E units across England are already under pressure and urging the public to stay away unless they are seriously ill. They include the Luton and Dunstable hospital, the Royal Shrewsbury, the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh trust in Lancashire. John Knighton, the medical director of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Queen Alexandra Hospital said: ‘We have had an unprecedented volume of admissions with increasing numbers of patients with respiratory illnesses and flu. ‘Unfortunately, this meant longer waits than normal for ambulances arriving at the hospital. ‘All patients were assessed as soon as they arrived at the Emergency Department and every effort was made to minimise delays and disruption. ‘Winter is an extremely challenging time of year for the NHS and we have robust plans in place to cope with the extra demands on our services.’ One senior A&E consultant said ‘frail, elderly’ patients were being left in A&E corridors across the country as there were no beds. Dr Rob Galloway, a consultant at the Brighton and Sussex Hospital, said staff were ‘exhausted’ and patients were ‘not getting the care they deserve.’ NHS figures for November – the latest available – show A&E units were managing slightly better compared to the same month last year. A total of 88.9 per cent of patients were treated within four hours compared to 88.4 per cent in November 2016. But last week’s cold triggered a sudden increase in chest infections, flu, heart conditions and strokes. Many A&E units are sending out messages on their websites or Twitter urging the public not to turn up with coughs, sore throats or muscle aches. But Dr Galloway, a lecturer on emergency medicine, said the pressures in A&E weren’t caused by patients attending inappropriately. His Facebook message added: ‘A&Es are struggling because of the frail elderly who need a ward bed but can’t get one. ‘They can’t get one because there are not enough beds within our hospitals.’ The Government gave an extra £2.8 billion to the NHS in last month’s Budget including an additional £350 million to help hospi-
‘Elderly need beds but can’t get them’
tals cope over winter, but many experts, including NHS England head Simon Stevens, say this money was too little, too late. A spokesman for NHS Improvement, the hospital regulator said: ‘Hospital staff are under considerable pressure and are working hard to ensure a smooth handover of patients so that ambulances are available as quickly as possible to respond to further 999 calls. ‘We are supporting trusts in a number of ways to ensure that patients wait as little as possible before being taken into hospital.’