Targets turn hospital into war zone, doctor tells Hewitt
A junior doctor told Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, that targets in accident departments were turning her hospital into a war zone.
Dr Jennie Blackwell, a senior house officer, said the targets, which stipulates that all patients must be dealt with within four hours of arriving in the department, was creating new problems for patients sent to other units in the hospital.
"There are patients strewn all over the unit, sitting in non- medical areas with serious medical conditions," she said. "It's inappropriate and frankly dangerous. We do not have the facilities to cope with these things. Morale among the staff is terrible."
Miss Hewitt was taking questions at the British Medical Association annual conference in Manchester.
Dr Blackwell, 27, appealed to her: "Please, please, please reduce this target. It's awful for patients and it's awful for us."
Dr Blackwell, a member of the council of the junior doctors' committee, who works in North-West England, said she did not want to name her hospital for fear of reprisal.
She was describing a medical assessment unit (MAU) taking many more cases from the accident department so that the waiting time target could be achieved. Patients also go to MAUs straight from their GP or the ambulance service.
"I have seen the whole corridor full of trolleys with the waiting room full as well. To make matters worse, some patients come in with paramedics, so they are waiting too as they must stay with their patients until we take over."
Dr Blackwell said she had known of patients waiting seven hours to be dealt with in the MAU. Another problem was receiving patients from the accident department before test results were ready.
Miss Hewitt said she was "very well aware" of difficulties in achieving some of the targets. She accepted that targets were crude but said their number had been reduced.
"I am not going to resile from the importance of this new and limited number of targets. Although they are crude, they are helping to achieve much-needed improvements in services."
Dr Jonathan Fielden, the deputy chairman of the BMA consultants' committee, said later that many MUAs were very effective in dealing quickly with patients.
"There is an issue in some when the trust focuses on the target without looking at the whole process of the care of the patient," he said.
Miss Hewitt, ("call me Patricia") the first secretary of state to address the conference, promised that she wanted to listen to the profession.
But there were cries of "shame", "rubbish" and "not good enough" when she spoke of the Government proposal to allow smoking to continue in pubs and bars that did not serve food. The BMA has long called for a total smoking ban in enclosed public areas.
She added that she expected all pubs would eventually be smoke free.
Miss Hewitt also offered an olive branch to consultants who have complained about the growth of private specialist treatment centres. In order not to deprive the NHS of their services, they have been banned from working in them.
The ban has been lifted except in areas where there are extreme staff shortages. In this case a consultant who leaves an NHS hospital must wait six months before working in a private treatment centre.
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/29/nbma29.xml
Dr Jennie Blackwell, a senior house officer, said the targets, which stipulates that all patients must be dealt with within four hours of arriving in the department, was creating new problems for patients sent to other units in the hospital.
"There are patients strewn all over the unit, sitting in non- medical areas with serious medical conditions," she said. "It's inappropriate and frankly dangerous. We do not have the facilities to cope with these things. Morale among the staff is terrible."
Miss Hewitt was taking questions at the British Medical Association annual conference in Manchester.
Dr Blackwell, 27, appealed to her: "Please, please, please reduce this target. It's awful for patients and it's awful for us."
Dr Blackwell, a member of the council of the junior doctors' committee, who works in North-West England, said she did not want to name her hospital for fear of reprisal.
She was describing a medical assessment unit (MAU) taking many more cases from the accident department so that the waiting time target could be achieved. Patients also go to MAUs straight from their GP or the ambulance service.
"I have seen the whole corridor full of trolleys with the waiting room full as well. To make matters worse, some patients come in with paramedics, so they are waiting too as they must stay with their patients until we take over."
Dr Blackwell said she had known of patients waiting seven hours to be dealt with in the MAU. Another problem was receiving patients from the accident department before test results were ready.
Miss Hewitt said she was "very well aware" of difficulties in achieving some of the targets. She accepted that targets were crude but said their number had been reduced.
"I am not going to resile from the importance of this new and limited number of targets. Although they are crude, they are helping to achieve much-needed improvements in services."
Dr Jonathan Fielden, the deputy chairman of the BMA consultants' committee, said later that many MUAs were very effective in dealing quickly with patients.
"There is an issue in some when the trust focuses on the target without looking at the whole process of the care of the patient," he said.
Miss Hewitt, ("call me Patricia") the first secretary of state to address the conference, promised that she wanted to listen to the profession.
But there were cries of "shame", "rubbish" and "not good enough" when she spoke of the Government proposal to allow smoking to continue in pubs and bars that did not serve food. The BMA has long called for a total smoking ban in enclosed public areas.
She added that she expected all pubs would eventually be smoke free.
Miss Hewitt also offered an olive branch to consultants who have complained about the growth of private specialist treatment centres. In order not to deprive the NHS of their services, they have been banned from working in them.
The ban has been lifted except in areas where there are extreme staff shortages. In this case a consultant who leaves an NHS hospital must wait six months before working in a private treatment centre.
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/29/nbma29.xml
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