NHS
NHS Staff congratulated for providing better A&E services
By DH, UK
Mar 31, 2005, 21:58

Patients had better quality health services over the winter months, according to Emergency Care and Primary Care Tsars Sir George Alberti and Dr David Colin-Thome.

In a winter-months performance report presented to Health Secretary John Reid today, the Tsars found that, despite pressures, winter was 'handled smoothly as part of the NHS�s everyday business'. Against a backdrop of increased demand for services in many localities the NHS delivered sustained improvements in key areas such as A&E and primary care.

For instance:

99 percent of patients were offered an appointment to see a primary care professional within 24 hours or a GP within 48 hours;

Despite a five percent increase in attendances at A&E between October-December 2004 compared to the same period in 2003, almost 97 percent of patients were seen in under 4 hours, compared to 90 percent for the equivalent period in 2003;

uptake of the flu vaccine among over 65 year-olds was over 70 percent and the highest ever;

the number of critical care beds again increased, from 3,143 in January 2004 to 3,213 in January 2005;

Provisional management data indicate that more patients received an emergency response within 8 minutes for immediately life-threatening 999 calls

Fewer patients operations being postponed at the last minute; and

Critical care services again performed well as, between October 2004 and January 2005, there were eight per cent fewer non-clinical transfers of critically ill patients than during the corresponding period in 2003-04.

Health Secretary John Reid said:

"This year�s winter report is evidence of unprecedented improvements in the NHS for patients. This is not a fluke. The NHS is achieving sustained and improved A&E and primary care performance over the winter months thanks to the hard work and professionalism of thousands of front-line NHS staff. Patients can expect the same better quality and faster access to NHS services during winter, as any other time of year.

"Years ago the vast majority of our A&E departments looked terrible, people waited for days to see a GP, waited days to be treated in A&E - sometimes on trolleys - and patients couldn't leave hospital when they were ready because social services had not assessed their needs. This is now the exception not the norm.

"Last winter we saw considerable improvements. For the first time in years we were able to announce that the NHS took �winter in its stride�. Emergency Care Tsar, Sir George Alberti, confidently diagnosed that patients could expect to receive the same high standards of services in January as they would expect in June. This year's winter report, and others from the NAO, Healthcare Commission and the Public Accounts Committee confirms that people are experiencing better NHS care.

"We are proud of the steps we have taken to improve A&E services for patients by setting a four hour target. NHS patients tell us that A&E is better than ever. The first validated data on sustained A&E performance between January and March 2005 will be published in May 2005. Provisional management information shows that the NHS is performing strongly so far.

"Investment and reform is working. Our drive to eliminate long waits in A&E has made the whole health and social care system work together in new and better ways resulting in faster access to treatment for patients. Going forward the NHS and its partners will be looking to continue to improve services for patients for next winter and beyond.

"I am delighted to see that despite manufacturing problems at the Chiron plant last year, that our flu-jab campaign has again been successful. More than 70 per cent of pensioners had a free jab this year. We also made special efforts to target patients under 65 living with chronic conditions. We estimate that 1.2 million of these patients received the jab."

Emergency Care Tsar Sir George Alberti said:

"Demand for healthcare services over winter 2004-05 was higher than before. Quarterly data shows that A&E performance has been transformed over the last three years. In December 2002, 78 percent of A&E patients were discharged or admitted within four hours. By December 2004, despite rising demand, this had reached 96.8 percent.

"A requirement for 98 percent of patients to be seen and treated within four hours became a live operational standard from this January. Nationally 19 out of 20 patients are already seen, diagnosed, treated and admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival and the majority of Trusts are well on the road to embedding 98 percent or above as their operating norm.

"Winter 2004-05 showed how far the NHS has come in improving emergency care. It is a tribute to the hard work of staff that A&E performance, already at unprecedented levels, continued to improve through the traditionally tough winter period.

"However, there is no room for complacency and the lessons of 2004-05 were that we can do more to improve the way demand is managed and to embed further the core changes in the way emergency care and, more widely, overall patient flow are managed."

Primary Care Tsar Dr David Colin Thome said:

"We were able to offer even more support to PCTs developing out-of-hours services thanks to, last year, an extra �316 million in funding being provided. So, for example, the extended opening hours of Walk-in-Centres means people who find it difficult to access primary care during working hours, at weekends and over bank holidays can still have first rate health care.

"This is not to say that challenges do not remain. Not all local health communities are yet delivering consistently high standards for all. Work remains to bring the experience of all patients up to that of the majority."

Winter always has the potential to impact upon health and social care services because of increases in the number of people suffering from flu, respiratory ailments and accidents due to bad weather. The NHS experienced very busy periods this winter due to unusually long Christmas and New Year bank holidays and a cold spell from mid-February to March cold which particularly affected the north, north-east and south-east.

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