Has anyone else experienced this in their departments recently? Our unit has
seen a 13% rise in new patient attendances over the last year, and we can't
explain why exactly. The rise is slightly more from non-ambulance patients
and non-admitted patients, i.e. group 1 and group 2 patients, roughly, to
use collaborative vernacular.
George Alberti has stated in the EMJ supplement that he aims to cut
attendances by 20% over the next 2 years. I find that hard to believe.
Personally, I believe patients are starting to actively choose to use A&E
departments now - rather than their GPs - as they're virtually guaranteed a
wait of no more than four hours. Things will only get worse in December when
the GPs opt out (of OOH care).
So while some of Alberti's schemes may produce benefits, they'll be
outweighed by many other factors, I fear. NHS Direct, for example, hasn't
cut attendances at all and has probably put them up in some areas, I
suspect.
Adrian Fogarty
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