The NHS Alliance comments on RCEM’s study on overcrowded emergency departments
Matthew Hopkins says these conditions are symptomatic of wider capacity pressures across health and social care.
Responding to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s (RCEM) study by members of the Trainee Emergency Research Network (TERN), which found that Emergency Department (ED) patients were more likely to die the more overcrowded the ED was, Matthew Hopkins, director of the NHS Alliance's acute and ambulance network, said:
“Hospitals are struggling with rising demand for urgent and emergency care.
“The findings of this study highlight the impact and risk of overcrowding on the lives of patients.
“These conditions are symptomatic of wider capacity pressures across health and social care.
“The answer isn’t simply about more beds or capacity. We need to improve the flow of patients through the system, including strengthening GP and community services to help prevent admissions, making best use of ambulance services and taking steps to ensure patients can be discharged from hospital promptly when they are ready to move on.”