It has been reported this week that the boss of Ambulance Services in the West Midlands has said that patients are suffering as hospital bed and staff shortages mean ambulances cannot unload patients.
Steve Wheaton of West Midlands Ambulance Service was reported as saying that nearly 2000 ambulances had waited more than an hour this month alone to hand over a patient to Accident & Emergency departments. He said that the situation was the worst he had known in his 20 year career.
According to Mr Wheaton, occasionally ambulances are answering emergencies without a stretcher on board because the patient it still lying on it in hospital.
Mr Wheaton said
“Patient safety is our number one priority and we do our best to make sure that we look after patients, but it is becoming increasingly hard to maintain a 999 service and a service to patients in a corridor. Corridors are not the best place for patients to be nursed.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service covers Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands conurbation. Mr Wheaton said that the hospital delays were impacting on 999 response times. He said:
“I’m sure that if you looked through some of the cases, that we have seen patients where their chances of survival would have improved, or the outcome of their care could have been better, had we got there faster.”
In Birmingham, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Chief Executive, Dame Julie Moore, said that there had been a 10% increase in A&E attendance across Birmingham. The hospital has recently moved into a new purpose-built facility but it is also about to re-open and re-equip two wards in its old hospital in order to cope with the unprecedented demand.
From April, fines are due to be imposed on hospitals that are not releasing ambulances quickly enough. Trusts are also penalised if patients wait more than four hours in Accident & Emergency.
The concerns of the boss of West Midlands Ambulance Services are understandable. Patients are bound to suffer as a result of bed and staff shortages. Clearly it is of the utmost importance that patients are seen as soon as possible in order to allow the paramedics and hospital staff the best chance of assessing the situation and administering appropriate treatment.
Hospital Bed And Staff Shortages Harming Patients – Comment
It remains to be seen how such a situation can be dealt with. It is concerning that ever increasing demand comes at a time when hospitals are faced with decreasing facilities and a severe lack of funds to improve matters. This situation will be extremely difficult to deal with and is unfortunately likely to result in more stories like this.
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