NEWS
A ‘perfect storm of unfavourable conditions’ is brewing for winter By Erin Dean Concern about how the NHS will cope with the extra demands of winter has been voiced by health analysts. NHS England data reveals the strain extra emergency admissions are already putting on acute services – well ahead of the cold weather. Attendances at A&E, emergency admissions and a backlog of patients waiting to be admitted are all going up. During September and the first part of October 2013, emergency attendances were 2,485,928, which went up to 2,585,831 during the same period this year. Emergency admissions from large A&Es increased from 431,000 to 454,000. The number of patients waiting between four and 12 hours to be admitted has increased by 52 per cent from 19,000 to 29,000. RCN acute and emergency care adviser JP Nolan said: ‘The emergency department is a barometer for the pressure across the rest of the service. The number of people admitted
from the emergency department has continued to go up, while the number of inpatient beds has gone down. ‘Everywhere is under pressure and that creates a perfect storm of unfavourable conditions, which means each part of the system just tries to cope and manage their own capacity.’ The Department of Health has already agreed to provide extra funds of £150 million for A&E units across England, on top of the £250 million announced in September.
Domino effect
Richard Murray, senior policy director at health think tank the King’s Fund, said some hospitals have had to retain their ‘winter’ capacity throughout the year. He said reductions in community nursing and other services could be leading to an increased demand for emergency care. ‘A number of services have said that the reduction in emergency activity that would normally happen in spring and summer never came,’ Mr Murray said. ‘Although a lot of people are
working hard to get ready for winter, we would not want to be starting here.’ Claire Picton, consultant in emergency care nursing at Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in west London, bears this out. ‘There has been year-round pressure. It is noticeable overnight, because the emergency department used to be quieter between 1am-11am. This is when we used to restock and clean, but now when you arrive at 7am it is busy because the waiting room has not been cleared during the night.’ Ian Blunt, senior research analyst at the Nuffield Trust, said there is a worrying increase in pressure on A&E, GP, mental health and social services. He said more patients should be diverted to minor injury units, GP services and the 111 telephone service. ‘There is much debate about the causes, such as whether it is people seeking emergency care more frequently or clinicians being more likely to admit people now than in the past. Pressures are greatest during winter and there is a harsh winter coming this year.’
Respiratory centre will offer support to leave hospital
UNP
Nurses will be delivering specialist care at the UK’s first purpose-built centre to help patients with respiratory problems breathe well enough to leave hospital. The Lane Fox REMEO Respiratory Centre in the grounds of East Surrey Hospital opened this week. As well as twice-weekly consultant visits, the centre links up with consultants from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust for virtual ward rounds. Clinical manager and respiratory nurse Lucy McGee (pictured) said: ‘Our patients may have spent months in intensive care or may have complex needs, so it will be great to give them the time and care they need.’
NURSING :: vol no 9::permission. 2014 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 25, 2015. For personal useoctober only. No29 other uses29 without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
A ‘perfect storm of unfavourable conditions’ is brewing for winter By Erin Dean Concern about how the NHS will cope with the extra demands of winter has been voiced by health analysts. NHS England data reveals the strain extra emergency admissions are already putting on acute services – well ahead of the cold weather. Attendances at A&E, emergency admissions and a backlog of patients waiting to be admitted are all going up. During September and the first part of October 2013, emergency attendances were 2,485,928, which went up to 2,585,831 during the same period this year. Emergency admissions from large A&Es increased from 431,000 to 454,000. The number of patients waiting between four and 12 hours to be admitted has increased by 52 per cent from 19,000 to 29,000. RCN acute and emergency care adviser JP Nolan said: ‘The emergency department is a barometer for the pressure across the rest of the service. The number of people admitted
from the emergency department has continued to go up, while the number of inpatient beds has gone down. ‘Everywhere is under pressure and that creates a perfect storm of unfavourable conditions, which means each part of the system just tries to cope and manage their own capacity.’ The Department of Health has already agreed to provide extra funds of £150 million for A&E units across England, on top of the £250 million announced in September.
Domino effect
Richard Murray, senior policy director at health think tank the King’s Fund, said some hospitals have had to retain their ‘winter’ capacity throughout the year. He said reductions in community nursing and other services could be leading to an increased demand for emergency care. ‘A number of services have said that the reduction in emergency activity that would normally happen in spring and summer never came,’ Mr Murray said. ‘Although a lot of people are
working hard to get ready for winter, we would not want to be starting here.’ Claire Picton, consultant in emergency care nursing at Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in west London, bears this out. ‘There has been year-round pressure. It is noticeable overnight, because the emergency department used to be quieter between 1am-11am. This is when we used to restock and clean, but now when you arrive at 7am it is busy because the waiting room has not been cleared during the night.’ Ian Blunt, senior research analyst at the Nuffield Trust, said there is a worrying increase in pressure on A&E, GP, mental health and social services. He said more patients should be diverted to minor injury units, GP services and the 111 telephone service. ‘There is much debate about the causes, such as whether it is people seeking emergency care more frequently or clinicians being more likely to admit people now than in the past. Pressures are greatest during winter and there is a harsh winter coming this year.’
Respiratory centre will offer support to leave hospital
UNP
Nurses will be delivering specialist care at the UK’s first purpose-built centre to help patients with respiratory problems breathe well enough to leave hospital. The Lane Fox REMEO Respiratory Centre in the grounds of East Surrey Hospital opened this week. As well as twice-weekly consultant visits, the centre links up with consultants from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust for virtual ward rounds. Clinical manager and respiratory nurse Lucy McGee (pictured) said: ‘Our patients may have spent months in intensive care or may have complex needs, so it will be great to give them the time and care they need.’
NURSING :: vol no 9::permission. 2014 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 25, 2015. For personal useoctober only. No29 other uses29 without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
