The Evening Standard reported yesterday an allegation that stroke patient Kaniz Shaukat was left unattended for 6 hours at King Georges Hospital and then given the wrong drugs upon arrival at Queens. Link at
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/health/hospital-left-stroke-victim-for-six-hours-without-treatment-7581099.html
It would be helpful if the Trust could publish details of how much is being paid out in damages as a result of negligence so the public could see if things are getting better. The Romford Recorder article here:
http://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/havering_health_trust_s_negligence_claims_second_highest_in_the_country_1_965165?ot=archant.PrintFriendlyPageLayout.ot
publishes figures which indicate things appear to be getting worse. More reasons for why our A&E and maternity unit should not close.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
CQC says Queens exposes patients to unnecessary risks
Thank you to a resident who wishes to be anonymous who drew my attention to a CQC report published in February 2012 concerning a visit to Queens on 10 October 2011.
The CQC overall judgement is "Queen's Hospital was not meeting one or more essential standards. Improvements are needed."
The report says:
“The trust has made several changes and improvements in respect of the major concerns previously identified. However the department continue to fail in meeting targets sometimes resulting in delays in the care and treatment of patients, this can be due to 'blockages' in the system which could in turn be due to a lack of availability of beds throughout the hospital. The hospital also continue in their struggle to recruit middle grade doctors and a reliance is placed on using doctors from local agencies. This reliance has increased the risk of reduced medical cover when agency doctors have failed to work the shift they were booked for at very short notice or no notice. Overall this is exposing patients to unnecessary and increased risk of poor care.”
The report also says:
“Staff told us, and we observed, that the activity in the A&E Department at King George Hospital was monitored by the A&E Department at Queen's. During our visit Queen's Hospital had been short of doctors, on occasions doctors are transferred from King George Hospital to help out at Queen's.”
I cannot understand how plans to close King George Hospital A&E and cut staff by 25% can be considered in light of such a report. The 120 Black Breaches record in an earlier post suggests the A&E service appears to be deteriorating not improving since the October 2011 visit.
The report is at http://www.cqc.org.uk/directory/rf4qh
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Have you suffered as a result of Ambulance Delays?
BBC TV are considering a piece today about ambulance delays at Queens/KGH.
They aim to film someone who has suffered as a consequence of being stuck in an ambulance because A&E was full up. If you know someone you is willing to be interviewed please let me know by 12.45pm today.
It's a long shot but I thought worth trying, please phone me on 07956 263088 if you can help.
They aim to film someone who has suffered as a consequence of being stuck in an ambulance because A&E was full up. If you know someone you is willing to be interviewed please let me know by 12.45pm today.
It's a long shot but I thought worth trying, please phone me on 07956 263088 if you can help.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
New London Record for Ambulance Delays at BHRUT
The Health Service Journal reports at http://www.hsj.co.uk/hsj-local/acute-trusts/barking-havering-and-redbridge-university-hospitals-nhs-trust/east-london-hospital-trust-sets-new-record-for-ambulance-handover-delays/5042620.article that BHRUT has set a record for ambulance "black breaches" the week ending Friday 2 March. A black breach is where patients wait more than an hour in an ambulance because they could not be admitted to a BHRUT hospital.
The 120 shatters the previous record of 87 which was also held by BHRUT. With planned C sections still not back at Queens or King George Hospital (KGH) it is clear that KGH A&E and maternity must stay open and BHRUT A&E and maternity facilities expanded not shut down.
Many thanks to Paul Canal for pointing this story out to me.
The 120 shatters the previous record of 87 which was also held by BHRUT. With planned C sections still not back at Queens or King George Hospital (KGH) it is clear that KGH A&E and maternity must stay open and BHRUT A&E and maternity facilities expanded not shut down.
Many thanks to Paul Canal for pointing this story out to me.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Why does BHRUT want more A&E beds at Queens?
The post before this has a letter from Averil Dongworth which includes the statement "we are preparing a business case for capital works to expand capacity in the Queen’s Emergency department"
The first reaction must be to welcome more beds at Queens (if this is what the above means). However, if these new beds are merely to be created to replace those at KGH this is puzzling. The original case for the KGH closures did not include new build for A&E facilities at Queens, instead, the closure case depended upon the length of stay the hospitals being reduced.
Averil needs to clarify exactly why these new beds are to be built as closing beds at KGH and spending large sums of public money to provide new ones at Queens does not appear a good use of public money.
The first reaction must be to welcome more beds at Queens (if this is what the above means). However, if these new beds are merely to be created to replace those at KGH this is puzzling. The original case for the KGH closures did not include new build for A&E facilities at Queens, instead, the closure case depended upon the length of stay the hospitals being reduced.
Averil needs to clarify exactly why these new beds are to be built as closing beds at KGH and spending large sums of public money to provide new ones at Queens does not appear a good use of public money.
BHRUT should release this information
Below is a letter that was sent to me last week. In it, Averil Dongworth, the Chief Executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust says that information regarding temporary closure of Queens and King George Hospitals to ambulances will not be published on the Trust website as it might confuse people. This argument is dubious, if A&E temporary closures were always published a month in arrears it seems difficult that: (a) a sick person is going to look this statistic up and: (b) it would stop them going to Queens/ KGH even if they did.
The public elect MPs and cllrs to monitor the performance of public services. How can people judge if King George A&E can be closed safely if this key information is withheld? Text of letter follows
Interim Chair: Mr George Wood
Chief Executive: Averil Dongworth
Chief Executive’s Office
Trust Headquarters
Queen’s Hospital
Rom Valley Way
Romford
Essex
RM7 0AG
DDI: 01708 435444
22 December 2011
To: Members of the Scrutiny Committees and
Health and Wellbeing Boards for Outer North East London
Dear colleagues
Re: Emergency department performance
I wanted to update you on the pressure on the hospitals’ emergency departments,
particularly during December and ahead of January, often the busiest time of the year for
A&E and with greatest pressure on the availability of hospital beds.
We now publish full performance information on the BHRUT website on a monthly basis.
This can be viewed through the link: http://www.bhrhospitals.nhs.uk/aboutus/plans.php.
(There is a month’s time lag before the information can be collated, centrally validated and
displayed.) I am concerned that there are still too many occasions of delay, both in releasing
ambulances and in admitting patients through the Emergency department.
The Trust is committed to reducing ambulance delays and delays in treating or admitting
patients within four hours. With regard to ambulance delays, we have improved performance
in recent months by implementing new processes within the Emergency department. These
include risk assessing every patient as soon as they arrive at the hospital, offering them rapid
treatment where they need this urgently.
Further work is needed, in particular, to help us cope with surges in the number of
ambulances at the hospital – at times we have to deal with up to 12 ambulances on site at
once. We are developing plans to increase our capacity both for ambulances and for
seriously ill emergency patients as a whole, so that we can make sure every patient receives
rapid treatment in the best setting. We are preparing a business case for capital works to
expand capacity in the Queen’s Emergency department.
We have received questions about the procedure for closure of the Emergency department
at times when it is too busy and I would like to clarify that the department never closes, and
would only do so if there was an immediate risk to patient safety, for example, from a fire.
However, there are occasions when our resuscitation bays are all occupied, and at this time,
we liaise with NHS London and the London Ambulance Service.
2
Following established protocols, a divert for blue light ambulances may be agreed for a
limited time, taking into account capacity at neighbouring units. This time period is usually
less than two hours and is kept under regular review. The most common divert is for patients
who would have been taken to Queen’s to be diverted to King George, but consideration is
given to all the surrounding hospitals, their facilities and capacity. During a divert, the hospital
is still open to walk in patients, and there may be circumstances where paramedics override
the divert on the basis of an individual patient’s needs.
We do not publish details of diverts on the Trust’s website, because they operate for such a
limited period and are often lifted early. Patients using blue light ambulances are the only
group affected, and publishing details could cause confusion for other patients who would
still be able to access emergency services.
I think it is important to acknowledge that we have not resolved all the issues that we face in
delays in the emergency department, patient flow throughout the hospitals, and in reducing
the number of people attending hospital who could have benefited from out-of-hospital care.
We are working with our commissioners and GPs to reduce these problems, which are also
supported by the NHS Operating Framework. This framework contains rules meaning
hospitals are paid only 30% of tariff for ‘excess’ A&E attendances and not paid for
readmissions within 30 days. This allows commissioners to invest in out-of-hospital care,
admission avoidance schemes and re-ablement schemes to prevent the need for hospital
attendances.
A&E attendances and readmissions remain high and we are in regular dialogue with our
commissioners and GPs about the further work that is needed. Some recent developments
include a system where A&E staff have the support of GPs to book patients a GP
appointment, if this would be more appropriate for their care. NHS ONEL is also launching a
public information campaign about alternatives to hospital care, with high profile advertising,
leaflets and information distributed throughout the community from the start of January 2012.
I would like to assure you that staff across the Trust have been briefed about the importance
of reducing delays for patients at every stage of hospital care, so that beds are available for
patients who need admission from the Emergency Department and cubicles are then
available for patients as they arrive. I would be very happy to discuss this with Committee
members and provide a further update in the New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Averil Dongworth
Chief Executive
cc Alwen Williams, NHS Outer North East London
The public elect MPs and cllrs to monitor the performance of public services. How can people judge if King George A&E can be closed safely if this key information is withheld? Text of letter follows
Interim Chair: Mr George Wood
Chief Executive: Averil Dongworth
Chief Executive’s Office
Trust Headquarters
Queen’s Hospital
Rom Valley Way
Romford
Essex
RM7 0AG
DDI: 01708 435444
22 December 2011
To: Members of the Scrutiny Committees and
Health and Wellbeing Boards for Outer North East London
Dear colleagues
Re: Emergency department performance
I wanted to update you on the pressure on the hospitals’ emergency departments,
particularly during December and ahead of January, often the busiest time of the year for
A&E and with greatest pressure on the availability of hospital beds.
We now publish full performance information on the BHRUT website on a monthly basis.
This can be viewed through the link: http://www.bhrhospitals.nhs.uk/aboutus/plans.php.
(There is a month’s time lag before the information can be collated, centrally validated and
displayed.) I am concerned that there are still too many occasions of delay, both in releasing
ambulances and in admitting patients through the Emergency department.
The Trust is committed to reducing ambulance delays and delays in treating or admitting
patients within four hours. With regard to ambulance delays, we have improved performance
in recent months by implementing new processes within the Emergency department. These
include risk assessing every patient as soon as they arrive at the hospital, offering them rapid
treatment where they need this urgently.
Further work is needed, in particular, to help us cope with surges in the number of
ambulances at the hospital – at times we have to deal with up to 12 ambulances on site at
once. We are developing plans to increase our capacity both for ambulances and for
seriously ill emergency patients as a whole, so that we can make sure every patient receives
rapid treatment in the best setting. We are preparing a business case for capital works to
expand capacity in the Queen’s Emergency department.
We have received questions about the procedure for closure of the Emergency department
at times when it is too busy and I would like to clarify that the department never closes, and
would only do so if there was an immediate risk to patient safety, for example, from a fire.
However, there are occasions when our resuscitation bays are all occupied, and at this time,
we liaise with NHS London and the London Ambulance Service.
2
Following established protocols, a divert for blue light ambulances may be agreed for a
limited time, taking into account capacity at neighbouring units. This time period is usually
less than two hours and is kept under regular review. The most common divert is for patients
who would have been taken to Queen’s to be diverted to King George, but consideration is
given to all the surrounding hospitals, their facilities and capacity. During a divert, the hospital
is still open to walk in patients, and there may be circumstances where paramedics override
the divert on the basis of an individual patient’s needs.
We do not publish details of diverts on the Trust’s website, because they operate for such a
limited period and are often lifted early. Patients using blue light ambulances are the only
group affected, and publishing details could cause confusion for other patients who would
still be able to access emergency services.
I think it is important to acknowledge that we have not resolved all the issues that we face in
delays in the emergency department, patient flow throughout the hospitals, and in reducing
the number of people attending hospital who could have benefited from out-of-hospital care.
We are working with our commissioners and GPs to reduce these problems, which are also
supported by the NHS Operating Framework. This framework contains rules meaning
hospitals are paid only 30% of tariff for ‘excess’ A&E attendances and not paid for
readmissions within 30 days. This allows commissioners to invest in out-of-hospital care,
admission avoidance schemes and re-ablement schemes to prevent the need for hospital
attendances.
A&E attendances and readmissions remain high and we are in regular dialogue with our
commissioners and GPs about the further work that is needed. Some recent developments
include a system where A&E staff have the support of GPs to book patients a GP
appointment, if this would be more appropriate for their care. NHS ONEL is also launching a
public information campaign about alternatives to hospital care, with high profile advertising,
leaflets and information distributed throughout the community from the start of January 2012.
I would like to assure you that staff across the Trust have been briefed about the importance
of reducing delays for patients at every stage of hospital care, so that beds are available for
patients who need admission from the Emergency Department and cubicles are then
available for patients as they arrive. I would be very happy to discuss this with Committee
members and provide a further update in the New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Averil Dongworth
Chief Executive
cc Alwen Williams, NHS Outer North East London
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