Thursday 21 November 2024
Emergency Medicine clinicians in Wales feel like they are getting the cold shoulder from the Welsh Government as the weather worsens and their concerns about patient safety grow.
That’s the assessment of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) as the latest performance data shows last month (October 2024) one in seven people (10,085) waited 12 hours or more in Emergency Departments in Wales; and its own data shows A&E doctors are seriously worried about the safety of their patients.
NHS activity and performance summary released today (21 November 2024) by the Welsh government also revealed 43.5% of patients (29,924) waited four hours or longer in an A&E to be seen, admitted, discharged or transferred, an increase of 7.9% from last month (27,733).
Meanwhile, nearly one in four patients (16,082) waited eight hours or longer.
It comes as Welsh Secretary for Health, Jeremy Miles MS, this week announced the government is topping up the fund to help the NHS cut the longest waiting times for specialist appointments in Wales, from £28 million to £50 million and also enabling the sector to make use of the private sector where they can.
Dr Rob Perry, RCEM Vice President for Wales, said: “Just this week, an RCEM survey of those doctors responsible for patient safety in Emergency Departments in Wales revealed 89% felt patients are coming to harm because of the conditions they are currently experiencing.
“And today we have these statistics which are another red flag regarding the immense pressure the Urgent and Emergency Care system is under – coming just as temperatures start to plummet.
“Only a few weeks ago we cautioned the Senedd about not neglecting our specialty during the most challenging time of the year, but these warnings have gone unheeded, with money being announced for elective care but none for Emergency Care. It’s not surprising our members feel they are getting the cold shoulder from the Welsh Government.
“Reducing the dangerous long waits being endured by our patients – which we know can have devastating consequences must be prioritised. And we commend the ambition of the 50-day Integrated Care Winter Challenge to tackle delayed discharges which will also help free up vital beds, but we would like it extended for the whole winter, not just until the end of the year.
“Ministers must listen to those on the frontline who are battling the system every day, trying to do the best for their patients who are suffering the consequences of conditions that will only be exacerbated as winter starts to bite.”
The full data set can be found here.
A graphical representation of the data can be found here.
