Trafford Labour Healthcheck
Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 10:14, Mon 18 November 2013:
Last week, Sir Bruce Keogh, the national medical director of the NHS, published a report into the future of emergency and urgent care. Given the changes underway now at Trafford, I read it with great interest.
There was lots in the report I agreed with. Sir Bruce points to the rising demands on A&Es, and says we need to review the way the whole system operates. He argues – and I agree – that wherever possible people should be treated at, or as close as possible to, home, rather than having to go to hospital. And he says – which I didn’t know before – that 40% of those who go to A&E are discharged requiring no treatment at all.
Sir Bruce also says however that patients now are faced with a baffling array of centres and services, and it’s difficult for them to decide which to access. So it’s hardly surprising people choose to go to A&E if they’re unsure, when what they want is peace of mind.
But that’s part of the reason pressures build up in A&E, and I am very concerned that the situation will get even worse as we head into winter.
The NHS locally have told me that once you arrive at their front door, wherever you go, it will be their responsibility to get you to the right place for treatment. I do think this will be a real challenge. I just read the leaflet that is being delivered to every household in Trafford about the changes at Trafford General Hospital. And it looks to me as if what Sir Bruce says about a complicated set of options and services is exactly what we’ll have at Trafford.
An urgent care centre, open 8am – midnight, which will provide treatment for adults and children. At other times, people should go to Wythenshawe, MRI or Salford.
A walk-in centre at Trafford General, open to deal with minor ailments between 8 am and 8 pm. Then at some time in the future, we’ll also have a minor injuries unit.
A gynaecological centre, open between 9 am and 4 pm- but outside these hours, you have to go to the emergency unit at St Mary’s.
And, as is the case now, the most serious emergencies will be taken by ambulance not to Trafford, but to the specialist centres at the nearby teaching hospitals: Wythenshawe, MRI or Salford. This is absolutely the right thing to do: treatment can start in the ambulance, and patients are treated by specialists with access to all the latest hi-tech equipment. That’s why survival rates are better now in serious cases for those who are taken not to the nearest local A&E, but to specialist centres of excellence.
So all these changes may enable more people to get the best possible treatment at the most appropriate place, but it’s very complicated for patients. Of course, when someone’s seriously ill, I want them to go straight away to a specialist centre. But I’m really concerned about the parent, worried sick in the middle of the night about whether to drive an unwell child to hospital. Will she know where to take them? And what about a seriously mentally ill patient, who turns up, distressed and unwell, at Trafford General A&E in the early hours of the morning, not realising it is closed?
The leaflet we’ve received suggests dialling NHS 111 for advice if you’re not sure where to go to get treatment. But Sir Bruce acknowledges changes on this scale are a major undertaking, and there are no simple solutions.
And we all know the NHS faces extra pressures in the winter months, yet we haven't been given any extra funding by the government to cope with the additional challenges. That’s why I asked the NHS to delay the changes at Trafford until next spring – but they decided to press ahead.
So now I am watching the impact of the forthcoming changes very carefully. I’d like to hear from you about your experiences if you face an emergency over the next few months and need to go to hospital or visit a doctor urgently. Please email me at traffordlabourhealthcheck@traffordlabour.org.uk to tell me your story. Or if you need me to help resolve a particular problem, please contact me on 749 9120 or email kate.green.mp@parliament.uk
Best Wishes,
Kate Green Labour MP for Stretford & Urmston
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