Commenting on the latest NHS performance data released today (13 June) which showed, among other things, that one in 10 patients attending emergency departments in May waited 12 hours or more and 53.3% of patients who were ready to be discharged from hospitals were unable to be due to a lack of social care provision,
Dr Nick Murch, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “NHS urgent and emergency care (UEC) provision has been under significant strain in all four home nations for far too long – so much so there is now a tacit acceptance the phrase ‘eternal winter’ in the NHS is normal.
“This situation – particularly overcrowding – is increasingly causing harm to patients, with care routinely being delivered by teams in emergency departments, often in corridors and other unsuitable environments, rather than in appropriate wards.
“Older patients particularly bear the brunt of this rapidly deteriorating situation and the risk is significant, with adverse events and mortality as a result of these issues a sad reality.
“We are now mid-election campaign and there remains a lack of acceptance of the magnitude of the problems facing the NHS and the attention and resources needed to address them.
“The crisis in social care is frightening. There remain over 10,000 patients every day in hospitals who could be managed at home and lack of social care is preventing that from happening.
“UEC services remain under huge pressure and this will not reduce without identifying that it is a national emergency.
“The new normal is not something that we should be willing to accept and we hope that an incoming government makes some urgent and sustained interventions to change the current state of NHS UEC.”