Scarborough numbers up 10% for september on last year.
I thought it was just us.
We are overloaded but mostly with AAU / CCU diverts since
they are reducing the bed base.
Large number of unsorted primary care cases and "chest
pain call 999" or "collapse call 999" referrals from NHSD
or GP.
Many get sent home as the actual admission rate has not
changed in the hospital.
It is just as bad as before ESC, unfortunately our local
health economy never took on any of the changes because
the ED changes
solved a lot of the local problems for long enough that
they all forgot there ever had been a problem.
It is only now that the hospital is beginning to think
there might be a cause other than us lazy B*****s in the
ED!
No activity from the PCT at all!
APV
On Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:08:04 +0100
Steve Meek <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
> yes, absolutely. Bad since august but on a background of
>a doubling of our
> 'majors' or 'trolley' patients as a proportion of our
>work over the last 4
> years.
> Majors used to be 20% in 2006, now its 40% of our
>attendances. These are mainly
> ambulance cases though not all. Interestingly the number
>of admissions from ED
> has risen by a much smaller amount suggesting these
>patients are not terribly
> unwell and that we are good at admission avoidance. Not
>sure what is causing it
> - the increasing attractiveness of a visit to Frenchay
>by patients and
> paramedics maybe, initiatives such as stroke
>thrombolysis, or as Alan Montague
> puts it in his typically succinct manner 'they are
>building more houses, not
> more hospitals'.
> The further acute rise since August is alarming and
>impacting on patient care:
> the other day we had a queue of ambulance patients which
>was so long the last
> couldn't physically get in the building - I haven't seen
>that depressing sight
> since the pre-ESC days of 2003.
>
> Management, at exec level, are pretending to be deaf
>when we tell them what is
> happening, and simply shuffle the junior managers (if we
>let them) so they can
> pretend they are in control of events.
> I fear for both our patients and staff this winter.
> Steve Meek
>Frenchay
> N Bristol
>
>
> ________________________________
>From: S M Mason <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Wed, 13 October, 2010 13:29:22
> Subject: busy times in the ED?
>
> Dear All
> Am just putting this out to see whether you are also
>experiencing unusually busy
> times in your ED? We have noticed a fairly dramatic
>increase in our workload
> which is leaving us struggling for space and virutally
>no bed access. I am
> expecting that other EDs have had the same, but would be
>interested to hear
> from you?
> Thanks and Best Wishes
> Suzanne Mason
> Professor of emergency medicine
> University of Sheffield
>
>
>
>
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