The reality for one old man of this winter’s crisis in hospitals
SIR – Last Thursday, a 95-year-old man, a relative of mine, was transferred from community hospital to A&E at Swindon’s Great Western Hospital at 9pm. Four hours later he had not yet been seen by a doctor. Eighteen hours later he was still in A&E.
He spent these hours on a trolley in a cubicle designed for one patient but divided by a screen so that another patient (female) could be fitted into the space. There was no room for his wife to sit beside him, and no room for a nurse to give what is euphemistically called “personal care” to either patient in a dignified manner.
His was not an isolated case in Swindon Great Western that night. The staff were severely stressed.
Is this how we wish to treat our elderly, sick and the dying? It seems so. Theresa May’s and Jeremy Hunt’s apologies are not sufficient. Nina Anstee
London N21
SIR – With the flu epidemic putting pressures on the health service, there are cries for a royal commission and a major overhaul of the NHS (report, January 8). Attention is on how to save on costs, with the Centre for Policy Studies estimating that more efficiency could save £5.6 billion a year.
But, in the midst of this crisis, there is a distinct lack of attention paid to the extraordinary burden of preventable illness due to excess alcohol consumption and obesity, which cost the NHS £3.5 billion and £6.1 billion respectively each year.
The burden on the NHS from alcohol and obesity is unsustainable. Alcohol-related hospital admissions exceed 1.2 million a year and A&E departments struggle to cope with intoxicated people.
Yet there are well-evidenced solutions that would make a difference.
Scotland is going ahead with the introduction of the Minimum Unit Price for alcohol; a similar scheme in Canada led to a 9 per cent reduction in alcohol-related hospital admissions in one year and a 28 per cent reduction in mortality. Research indicates this measure would lead to 1,150 fewer deaths and 74,500 fewer hospital admissions over five years if introduced in England, with direct cost savings of £1.1 billion.
Similarly, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy could easily be extended to foods high in salt, sugar and fat.
It remains to be seen why the Government appears so blind to all these figures and the need to prevent ill health.
Surely even the powerful lobbies of the food and drinks industry cannot deny that a healthier population is better than an increasingly sick one. Roger Williams
Director, Institute of Hepatology and Foundation for Liver Research Katherine Brown
Chief Executive, Institute of Alcohol Studies Richard Horton
Editor, The Lancet Nick Sheron
Head of Clinical Hepatology, University of Southampton