I am not convinced Francis that this report is really "A&E" bashing. I heard
Foster later that morning on Radio 2 (sorry!) and he basically said that the
doctors and nurses are working flat out, but Management - with a capital M -
was at fault. Take some of the summary paragraphs:
36 Not enough ENPs, hospital managers should address this.
37 Not enough RSCNs, not enough senior doctors [clearly a Management
problem]
39 Hospital managers must now use information to improve patient care.
Why should BAEM suddenly appear defensive about this? There was a clear
message yesterday that the A&E service is crap and needs improving. Why
argue with that? Surely we all agree with this sentiment? To turn around and
say, hmmm no it's OK actually, would be downright foolish, nay deluded,
wouldn't it? And should we feel so guilty even if our micro-management is
suboptimal? None of us are professional managers, we're doctors with a
modicum of management skills, who haven't enough time to properly manage
because we're too busy being doctors!
Adrian Fogarty
London Consultant - v. bad :(
----- Original Message -----
From: "Francis Andrews" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2001 3:25 PM
Subject: audit commission report
> The list seems to have ben silent regarding the publication of the
> latest audit commission report on A&E so here goes.
>
> Yet again, there seems to have been an absence of anyone 'influential'
> from the A&E world defending our speciality in the media against some
> of the inaccuracies of the audit commission report. I listened to BBC
> radio 4 on the morning of the report publication and it was left to
> the opposition spokesman on health to fight our corner and state that
> departments were under pressure because there just simply are not
> enough beds in the rest of the hospital, which jams up departments. In
> other news bulletins on the TV and on the web, I didn't see any one
> from BAEM or a senior (A&E, not gen. medicine) consultant etc being
> interviewed. The Andrew Foster from the audit commission told radio 4
> that really, it was poor 'micro' management that was at fault, I think
> implying the departments themselves-this is echoed throughout in the
> report. Buried away in the report is the odd admission that actually
> if all the cubicles in A&E are full, then it is very diifficult to
> assess new patients. The report feels that this is only a problem
> occaisionally-more like everyday in most departments surely.
>
> The press statement on the BAEM website is watery and I think that yet
> again, a major opportunity to publicly fight our corner from within
> the speciality has been lost. Those in infuence within the speciality
> must have known that this report was coming out and a vigorous and
> very public defence should have been mounted. If this wasn't thought
> to be necessary given the report's highly critical main findings, then
> perhaps the report is right and we as a speciality just cannot get our
> act together, whether thrombolysing the right patients or organising
> staffing. Any one else feel mounting despair out there?
>
> Francis Andrews FFAEM
> Liverpool
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