Emergency A&E/Ambulance service debate

[Osem]

Just been watching this live debate on BBC Parliament. Jeremy Hunt has been very impressive as compared to Andy Burnham I must say. I've heard him on the radio quite a lot and I like his style.

He made a very good point that, having created such a fuss about this issue, the Labour benches are virtually empty and they seem to have very few actual questions to raise about what they're claiming is virtual meltdown. If anything, from what I've seen/heard this morning, this was a Labour own goal.

There's a brief summary here (starts at 10.30) but it doesn't fully reflect the paucity of Burnham's attempt to embarrass the Government on a subject on which they like to feel they are trusted by the public.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-30522160

[Mr K]

Didn't see the debate but I suspect you aren't very neutral Osem going from your 'sig', so will take your political report with a pinch of salt. It's certainly an 'own goal' for Jeremy Hunt when this story leaked this week.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...r-reveals.html .

I really hope he doesn't have a cardiac arrest and needs an ambulance in a hurry (or do i?) Well done to whoever leaked it; doubtless it was hoped to be buried in Christmas week.

Extending ambulance times is not only playing games with peoples lives, but is a cynical attempt to get A&E numbers down aswell - i.e. hoping more die before they get to hospital.

The NHS will lose the Tories the next election. People are seeing through their strategy of running it into the ground, then claiming only their private sector mates can help. Labour have been increasing their lead in the polls this week, I suspect this story may have had an effect.

[rhyds]

Wales' Labour run Welsh Ambulance service hasn't hit its response targets for over a year. That's all the proof I need to tell me who knows best.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Mr K

Didn't see the debate but I suspect you aren't very neutral Osem going from your 'sig', so will take your political report with a pinch of salt. It's certainly an 'own goal' for Jeremy Hunt when this story leaked this week.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...r-reveals.html .

I really hope he doesn't have a cardiac arrest and needs an ambulance in a hurry (or do i?) Well done to whoever leaked it; doubtless it was hoped to be buried in Christmas week.

Extending ambulance times is not only playing games with peoples lives, but is a cynical attempt to get A&E numbers down aswell - i.e. hoping more die before they get to hospital.

The NHS will lose the Tories the next election. People are seeing through their strategy of running it into the ground, then claiming only their private sector mates can help. Labour have been increasing their lead in the polls this week, I suspect this story may have had an effect.

It is the ambulance service and even A&E doctors suggesting the changes. One of the claims is that MORE ambulances could be provided rather than the single driver cars who cannot transport anybody.

A recent personal experience of mine was that I called an ambulance and after they stabilised my situation and took me to hospital, the crew had to wait around for about 45 minutes before I was admitted to A&E. Once in A&E I was left alone for periods of time whilst various doctors and nurses came and went, performing various examinations and tests. Therefore the ambulance crew didn't need to be with me during that 45 minutes. They could have been dealing with others. Address that issue and you increase capacity very quickly.

I spent 4 weeks in hospital, so I did need to make the call.

The current situation is a joke anyway.

A lady fell a few streets away from us, and badly hurt herself possibly broke something so she couldn't be moved as advised by the 999 operator, happened late on a Friday night was 11pm in the evening. The Ambulance finally turned up at 3.05am some 4 hours later.

[alanbjames]

The response time here in Neath\Swansea is meant to be 6 minutes from call to ambulance getting there.

I was chatting to a friend of mine who is a Paramedic and another guy who is a Coast Guard in the Gower in Swansea and they were saying that the responce times are unrealistic.

The Coast Guard was saying he rang for an ambulace in the summer after a lady passed out on the beach and hit her head on rocks cutting it. The Air ambulance was unavailable and they dispatched an Ambulance from the Main hospital in Swansea which is the other side of Swansea which was meant to get there in 6 mins. I know they have a siran and traffic give way but its impossible in 6 mins. Under normal circumstances by car u r talking a 45 min drive.

[Russ]

One of the girls at work passed out last week and it looked pretty serious. We called an ambulance and it took 2 hours to arrive.

[Taf]

I think they average out the long journeys in the countryside against the short trips in the towns and cities, so anywhere with a large rural area is always going to produce a slow overall response time.

Plus roads are getting more snarled up every day, often with no way traffic can get out of the way in the logjams planners have developed through idiocy (or anti-car sentiment).

[Osem]

People getting plastered on a weekend and ambulances attending left right and centre, it's no wonder the service is stretched. A rapidly growing population demanding more treatment means either we spend more money on more staff/ambulances or try to do something about the level of demand and its root causes.

Just been listening to a paramedic who wasted several hours dealing with a guy who claimed he'd been having severe breathing problems which turned out to be due to excessive nasal hair. The paramedic cancelled the ambulance but the guy insisted that one be despatched and so it was apparently. Just one of oh so many cases in which the ambulance service is abused.

Although I don't agree with paying for GP visits etc. perhaps such abuse is an inevitable consequence of a service which is free at the point of delivery.

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Taf

I think they average out the long journeys in the countryside against the short trips in the towns and cities, so anywhere with a large rural area is always going to produce a slow overall response time.

Plus roads are getting more snarled up every day, often with no way traffic can get out of the way in the logjams planners have developed through idiocy (or anti-car sentiment).

In the centre of Newport though....

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Russ

In the centre of Newport though....

Cardiff centre is almost a no-go area for cars these days, and it'll get worse for TWO YEARS when they move the bus station after demolishing Marland House and the car park behind, plus build the new BBC HQ on the old bus station site. The disruption caused by the building of the Saint Davids Centre was bad enough...

Time to reopen Cardiff Royal Infirmary as an second ER for the city I think!

[Osem]

Labour has called on the government to hold an urgent summit on how to alleviate pressure on A&E services in English hospitals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30705689

Let's hope more of them turn up than bothered for the emergency debate they demanded...

Labour had 13 years in power with a decent parliamentary majority and Brown's world changing 'boom' to fix the NHS and blew it by fixating on PFI and giving GPs an overly generous contract which, alongside mass immigration/population growth in certain areas, has put massive strain on the A&E depts. They also presided over the Staffs hospitals scandal in which hundreds died through abject neglect but seem very keen NOT to mention that for some strange reason. I wonder why...

[Mr Angry]

More bad news tonight in relation to A&E performance.

"The leaders of Britain’s doctors and nurses said A&E units’ increasing struggle to cope with ever-rising numbers of patients were the result of problems elsewhere, such as failings with the NHS 111 telephone advice service, staff recruitment problems and the lack of social care services to help older people stay as well as possible in their own homes.

The Cardigan.

It's getting as bad here in Northern Ireland.

"Belfast Health Trust has cancelled all non-urgent elective surgery up to and including 10 January due to pressures on emergency departments. The rest of Northern Ireland's five trusts have cancelled some non-urgent elective surgeries.


CBB

[Stop It]

Originally Posted by Osem

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30705689

Let's hope more of them turn up than bothered for the emergency debate they demanded...

Labour had 13 years in power with a decent parliamentary majority and Brown's world changing 'boom' to fix the NHS and blew it by fixating on PFI and giving GPs an overly generous contract which, alongside mass immigration/population growth in certain areas, has put massive strain on the A&E depts. They also presided over the Staffs hospitals scandal in which hundreds died through abject neglect but seem very keen NOT to mention that for some strange reason. I wonder why...

Yet they managed to meet a 98% target in England for A&E depts to see patients within 4 hours most of the time. Since the Tories took over they set the target to 95% and promptly made that target look optimistic.

It has been nearly 5 years since the Tories have taken over yet things have got progressively worse. How long can you get by blaming the previous lot when the Tories have shown themselves to be less than competent?

LAB may have made a lot of mistakes in their tenure but they cared a significant amount more about the NHS than the Tories do. They simply do not care a jot about it and would rather be shot of it and would do if it wasn't political suicide.

[Gary L]

I think it's really strange that it's happening everywhere. all of a sudden.
it's as if there's a conspiracy.

to show that Dave has destroyed this country.
or an excuse for Dave to say we'll have to do our favourite thing and privatise it.

and then the media say it's our fault. we're going in for broken bones and such. not a life and death situation.