Local A&Es ‘essential’, says report chairman
Tuesday, 21 Aug 2007 14:52
The chairman of today’s report has insisted more local A&Es are necessary to resolve the current difficulties. The research, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, found patients with severe breathing problems had a 20 percent chance of dying if forced to travel more than 12 miles in an ambulance to receive treatment .
The Conservatives claim the government’s intended reconfiguration of the NHS over the next ten years could see A&Es replaced by “polyclinics”, forcing critically ill patients to travel even farther to reach emergency care.
This, according to the report, would have serious consequences for victims of heart attacks, where patients must receive immediate attention, as quickly as possible.
Professor Jon Nicholl, director of the Medical Care Research Unit at the University of Sheffield, who led the study said:
"Our data suggests that any changes that increase journey distances for all emergency patients may lead to an increase in mortality for some.
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