Recent Report Highlights Pressures on Emergency Services in Yorkshire
A recent report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a series of inspections of emergency and urgent care services across West Yorkshire between March and May 2022 has identified that improvements are necessary to ease pressure on these services.
The services inspected included 999 and 111 calls as well as Emergency Departments run by the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The inspection concluded as follows:
- The Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust had seen some improvements in response times and handover delays, but this was still below their performance targets.
- Staffing and capacity problems in care homes impacted on timely discharges from hospital.
- Issues were identified in the hospital discharge process meaning patients had to return to Hospital.
- There was an increased demand for NHS 111 services leading to staffing issues.
- An increase in the number of patients and staff sickness rates had led to problems in Bradford Royal Infirmary’s Emergency Department.
The report did go on to identify several positives including that there was a good understanding of the problems with improvements underway. It is hoped that these improvements can be made quickly to ensure ongoing patient safety.
The report highlights the pressures faced by NHS emergency services across the country. It follows numerous press reports of record long waiting times for ambulances and for patients to be seen in A & E Departments.
Recent data from the NHS shows that the number of people waiting for more than 12 hours in A and E departments rose 33% in July from the previous month. Only 71% of patients attending A & E departments in July 2022 were seen within 4 hours.
These are concerning statistics and reflect a serious risk to patient safety if action isn’t taken.
A & E departments deal with varied medical conditions from serious life-threatening injuries to less severe fractures and illnesses. It is important that patients are seen quickly as it is not always clear at the outset how serious a condition is or how quickly it needs to be treated. For example, a patient who has suffered a stroke or a heart attack may not always appear critically unwell but delays in treating these conditions can be life changing.
Medical Negligence Solicitors Yorkshire
Morrish Solicitors have experience in dealing with clinical negligence claims relating to delays in receiving emergency medical care. These include:
- Delays in dispatching an ambulance due to errors by the call handler or other service problems.
- Delays in the A & E department due to poor or inappropriate triage.
- Errors in emergency care often resulting from clinical pressures.
If these delays or errors have impacted the treatment received or caused additional damage, then compensation may be awarded.
If you believe you have a medical negligence claim please contact our specialist team of solicitors on 033 3344 9613 or email [email protected].
Our team of medical negligence specialists will be happy to discuss your options in detail with a free initial consultation.
