Closing your local A&E

[Salu]

I'm interested in your thoughts on closing A&E departments. There seems to be a general consensus from health staff, the public, the media and professional bodies (not necessarily publicly though) that this isn't a good idea even though there may be financial benefits. Yet this seems to be a growing trend.

There are many arguments about whether we need as many fully equipped A&Es especially as paramedics are better equipped these days (no puns please) and the really urgent occasions are comparatively rare. I wondered what you felt about this.

In particular what I'd like to know is; would you put your money where your mouth is? If the proposition was to close A&Es or keep them open but pay more NI for them; what would you do?

[Hugh]

I have voted for "yes, I would pay more", as it would be for Accidents and Emergencies, so it would be needed quickly and locally.

However, I would ban/charge the people who go to A&E's with a cold or a cut finger.

[Xaccers]

I've taken people to A&E so often my car's been nick named the abulance (ambo for short)
I certainly think A&E departments should be kept open, as for funding, considering how much money the NHS are getting, perhaps they should actually make sure it goes to the right areas for once?

[Maggy J]

Actually this is very apposite as this is what has already happened to my town.We had an excellent A&E provided courtesy of the MOD in RH Hasler but as part of the governments cut backs Hasler is no longer under the MOD and the local NHS trust seems to have decided that we have to go all the way to Queen Alexandria hospital just outside Portsmouth.If we are lucky and there's no heavy traffic it can be done in 10 minutes.However as the A27 and the M27 are frequently gridlocked twice a day this can become 20+ minutes.We have been allowed to have a paremedic or two in one ambulance but frankly it's all no match for the 5 minute trip it used to take to urgent cases to our old A&E.

Yes we had two hospitals but the War Memorial is just that a memorial and a clinic.It's not up to the job of an modern A&E.Hasler has just become an outpost for a variety of local clinics and services.

The locals of course have never been consulted(though there is a meeting this Wednesday supposedly to get our views)and even if we are I suspect that we won't be able to reverse any decisions.We would rather have a fully equipped local A&E with professionals of the highest calibre staffing it.

[greencreeper]

I have two A&Es close by - one within walking distance, and the other about a 15 minute drive. I would like to see more minor cases being dealt with at walk in centres and special clinics. Twenty four access to community support teams, such as social workers, would also take pressure off A&E. And then you have alcohol related injuries and the usual drunks - something needs to be done. But all-in-all, I would pay to keep at least one A&E in Leeds.

[Paul]

I would pay more NI as long as they started charging the P*ss heads that fill up most A&Es at the week end for their treatment. How many millions of pounds are spent every year treating prats that drink themselves stupid and end up either hurting themselves, causing an accident or just end up passed out drunk on the street?

[Jules]

I am all for keeping them open but something has to be done about the people that go in there with a minor complaint that they may have had for a few days and make the waiting times for the genuine cases ridiculously long

[Stuart]

Yes, I think they should be kept open. I think that some of the more minor injuries should be treated elsewhere (GP, pharmacist etc), but I do think that A&E should be available.

Still, the government isn't looking for what us patients think.

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I have two A&Es close by - one within walking distance, and the other about a 15 minute drive. I would like to see more minor cases being dealt with at walk in centres and special clinics. Twenty four access to community support teams, such as social workers, would also take pressure off A&E. And then you have alcohol related injuries and the usual drunks - something needs to be done. But all-in-all, I would pay to keep at least one A&E in Leeds.

Lucky you, having two.. Actually, I think I have two (not sure if the Mayday hospital at Croydon has one) that are within a 20 minute drive.

A few years back, our local hospital trust decided too many GPs were referring patients to A&E for minor injuries. Because most of the GP's surgery's have limited facilities for actual surgery, they closed our smallest local hospital to inpatients and refitted it as a "Minor Injuries Unit" that GPs could book for simple surgery.

AFAIK, very few GPs showed any interest.

[Ramrod]

I think that we are giving the NHS more than enough money and that it is somehow being wasted. The massive increases in funding that the NHS has seen in the last few years should have ensured that such a question shouldn't even need asking.....somehow the NHS has managed an interesting trick....less services for more money .........and I don't think that it's the staff at the sharp end who are wasting the money.....

[Jules]

The wastage is ridiculous in hospitals and after seeing it first hand on a few occasions it doesn't surprise me that they are short of money, also the fact that there are too many over paid chiefs and not enough Indians doesn't help

[Paul]

We have a walk in clinic which takes a lot of strain away from our A&E and the local GPs use it for out of hours referals, trouble is thanks to the local scrote/ chav/ p*ss head population the A&E is still flooded on a daily basis. Start charging the timewasters and drunks for use of the A&E and I bet the queues drop.

[monkey2468]

The main A&E from where I live is 20mins drive, however there is a small A&E (not sure if it is an A&E) where there is 1 doctor, 1 Nurse, and an exray machine 9-5pm, it about 2 mins walk. They generally do dressings, stitches, minor breaks. It seems to work very well as it is.

[fireman328]

Obviously this is a very emotive subject and lots of groups have a vested interest in retaining local services, but the situation as I see it it is that there is a legacy of old hospitals situated in the city centres with a diminishing provision on the outskirts. The paramedic services are much better trained and equiped these days to stabilise patients before transport to hospital as opposed to the old days when the ambulance service was looked upon as merely a transporter of people to hospital. There is what is termed "The Golden Hour" for intervention to aid a patients recovery and if paramedics can spend 20 minutes at the scene to stabilise a patient the final outcome is more likely to be good.
My suggestion would be to provide walk in clinics in populated areas for minor incidents, open 24/7 to cater for the "I dont feel very well doctor" type walking wounded and then a second tier of Super Hospitals sited on major traffic routes with easy access to motorways to transport more seriously ill to centres of excellence for treatment. Ideally the ambulance service should be based at hospitals as at the moment they seem to be in most cases remote and operating from another location.

[Stuart]

Actually, our local A&E is arranged in a crafty way. The seats are in small (ish) groups, seperated by walls. You get in, think "Ohh, it's nearly empty, won't have long to wait", then go round the corner and find another group of people wating for A&E.

[Hugh]

Originally Posted by Stuart C

...snip...
Lucky you, having two.. Actually, I think I have two (not sure if the Mayday hospital at Croydon has one) that are within a 20 minute drive.
... snip...

To be fair, the population of Leeds is 715,404 - malking it the third biggest city in the UK after London and Birmingham.