NHS chief DENIES crisis despite 55,000 delayed operations

An NHS chief denied that the health service is in the grip of a winter ‘crisis’ today – despite tens of thousands of operations being delayed.

Professor Keith Willett, NHS England’s director for acute care, admitted the drastic step of postponing all routine procedures and turning away non-urgent patients from A&E was ‘not ideal’

The former surgeon suggested the situation was at its worst since the 1990s, and braced people for the possibility that further delays could be needed.

But Prof Willett insisted the health service was ‘better prepared’ for the seasonal pressures than ever before, saying: ‘A crisis is when you haven’t got in place mitigations and you haven’t got a plan to deal with it.’ 

The comments came as Theresa May faced demands to ‘get a better grip’ on the NHS, with senior Tory MP and former GP Sarah Wollaston warning that ministers had to ‘understand the sheer scale of the increase in demand across health and social care’.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was accused of ‘running scared’ of defending his performance after he did not take to the airwaves this morning – although aides said he would be doing interviews later.

In an unprecedented move, NHS chiefs have demanded radical action to free up beds and medical staff. Casualty units are under ‘extreme and sustained’ pressure with flu cases on the rise.

Up to 55,000 non-urgent operations will be postponed until February, along with thousands of outpatient appointments and scans. 

Managers will be allowed to put patients on mixed-sex wards and consultants will be assigned to casualty units to assess patients on arrival. Anyone not judged to be seriously ill faces being turned away.

An A&E consultant at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust apologised for the ‘third world conditions’ endured at his hospital this weekend.

Dr Richard Fawcett revealed that the department had run out of corridors to house patients. He blamed the crisis, which saw some patients have to wait for 12 hours, on overcrowding.

Government figures also reveal confirmed cases of flu have risen 50 per cent in a week and experts are worried about an especially aggressive ‘Australian’ strain.

It was responsible for the worst flu outbreak in 50 years Down Under and has already claimed a number of lives in Ireland.

There were reports yesterday of waits of up to ten hours at casualty departments and managers issued social media alerts pleading with the public to stay away.

Two NHS bosses said the pressures were the worst in 30 years with one doctor apologising for ‘Third World’ conditions.

However, Prof Willett told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I fully accept that for the individual that will be really very uncomfortable.

‘But what we know is if we don’t have a plan in place and we don’t do this in a structured way, what will happen, as we’ve had in previous winters, is lots of last-minute cancellations which is really distracting for patients, it’s inconvenient, it upsets the plans they’ve put together with their family, particularly for elderly patients where their care needs are often quite significant.’

Prof Willett went on: ‘We’ve gone into this winter in a way that we’ve never prepared before, so we went into the winter before Christmas having cancelled fewer elective operations than we had previously, discharges from hospital were at a lower level than they had been previously, so we were better prepared.

‘We’ve also set up a national, regional and local structure – if you like, a winter pressures protocol – which we are invoking now and we are monitoring a whole series of things, activity in the service and the pressures.

‘We are monitoring the weather alerts in anticipation of weather changes because we know that’s important, and we also monitor the seasonal illnesses like flu.

‘We’ve started to see those change, that’s why the National Emergency Pressures Panel has now come out with these clear recommendations.’ 

Dr Wollaston, chair of the cross-party Health Select Committee, said the NHS was running a ‘full stretch’ and there was still ‘not enough money’ being spent – even though budgets have risen significantly in real terms since 2010.

‘The point is, if you have a very major increase in people who are living longer with complex conditions, that produces particular demands on the health system that I think they need to get a better grip on, to understand the sheer scale of the increase in demand across health and social care. And that’s what they need to do better planning for,’ she said. 

The first week of January is always busy with patients coming in with flu, chest infections, heart attacks and strokes. 

But doctors say the pressures this year are greater even than in January 2017 which was itself considered unprecedented. 

It is the first time NHS England has told hospitals to take such drastic measures during the winter.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was accused of ‘running scared’ of defending his performance after he did not take to the airwaves this morning – although aides said he would be doing interviews later

A number of ambulance services are also under severe pressure, with two even resorting to taxis to ferry patients to hospital

The measures were announced by Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director, following a meeting of the National Emergency Pressures Panel, which includes representatives of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Nursing.

Afterward Sir Bruce said: ‘I want to thank NHS staff who have worked incredibly hard under sustained pressure to take care of patients over the Christmas. 

‘We expect these pressures to continue and there are early signs of increased flu prevalence.

‘The NHS needs to take further action to increase capacity and minimise disruptive last-minute cancellations. That is why we are making these further recommendations today.’

The main measure is the postponement of tens of thousands of pre-planned operations due in January. 

NHS England, which runs the Health Service, said up to 55,000 non-urgent operations would probably be delayed, including hip and knee surgery and cataract procedures. 

This figure could rise to 350,000 if day case procedures are included, although officials said this was unlikely.

Cancer surgery or any other procedure which is considered urgent will not be delayed. Patients will receive letters in the post if they are affected.

A&E CONSULTANT APOLOGISES FOR ‘THIRD WORLD’ CONDITIONS

Dr Richard Fawcett works at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust

A consultant at one of the country’s largest A&E units has apologised for the ‘third world conditions’ endured at his hospital this weekend.

Dr Richard Fawcett, who works at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, revealed that the department had run out of corridors to house patients.

His heartfelt tweet, which made national headlines on Saturday, described the true situation that faced many A&E units across the country.

He said County Hospital in Stafford couldn’t hold any more ambulances and they were stacked up outside the other trust-run A&E at Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Dr Fawcett has now blamed the crisis, which saw some patients have to wait 12 hours to see a doctor, on overcrowding.

Dr Fawcett tweeted: ‘As an A&E consultant, I personally apologise to the people of stoke for the 3rd world conditions of the dept due to overcrowding [sic]’

Strangers responded to his tweet, posted this morning, in admiration for his honesty and refused to blame him for the situation at the hospital in Staffordshire.

Dr Richard Fawcett, who works at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, apologised for the third world conditions at this A&E department

Dr Fawcett revealed County Hospital in Stafford is having to turn away A&E patients because even the corridors are too full

Fines for mixed sex wards will be temporarily suspended until February to ensure patients are placed wherever there is a spare bed.

And patients coming into A&E will be assessed by a consultant on the door to establish very quickly whether they are seriously ill. 

Anyone with a minor illness or injury may be told to go to a walk-in centre, a GP or pharmacist.

Hospital doctors have also been told to review their cases twice a day to ensure that anyone who has recovered is discharged quickly.

Patients are being urged to call NHS 111 or go to a pharmacy rather than A&E – unless they are very seriously ill. 

A spokesman for NHS England denied ‘playing politics’ and insisted there was a genuine crisis.

One ambulance trust was asking family members to ferry patients to hospital as it was so overwhelmed with calls.

The North East Ambulance Service said it had been hit by an ‘unprecedented levels of demand’ between Christmas and New Year.

The East of England Ambulance Service said some patients had been ferried to hospital by taxi in the last three days as there were no free ambulances.

Paramedics at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire, had to wait up to five hours to take patients into hospital on Sunday.

There were reports that 24 ambulances were parked outside the hospital at its busiest point, with an average of ten to 14 vehicles waiting to drop off patients throughout the day, according to the Sun.

The move comes after leading medics warned that every emergency department in the country is struggling to cope with winter pressures

Usually, it should take up to 15 minutes to transfer patients from an ambulance into hospital.

Hospital staff were so stretched they declared an ‘internal incident’ on New Years Eve, the most serious alert usually reserved for unexpected catastrophes.

Senior officials clashed with the Government following November’s budget, when they were allocated a third of the money they had asked for. 

Later that month they announced that up to 3,000 prescription medicines would be rationed because the NHS could no longer cover the cost.

The increase in pressures on A&E is being driven by the ageing population, with many more frail and elderly patients succumbing to serious illness.

But officials fear this winter will be unprecedented due to the aggressive flu strain H2N3, known as Australian flu.

Figures from Public Health England showed there were 1,649 cases in the last week of 2017, up from 1,136 the week before. 

This represents only cases where it was confirmed in laboratory tests – the total number of affected patients would have been far higher.

Saffron Cordery, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospitals, said: ‘Preparations for winter in the NHS have been more extensive and meticulous than ever before.

‘Many are dealing with unprecedented demand, reflecting the recent rise in cases of flu and respiratory illness, the impact of norovirus and – in some places – primary care, including GPs, working at more than full stretch.’

Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s health spokesman, said: ‘Tory underfunding and cuts have left our Health Service more vulnerable than ever before.’