29 October 2004
NHS accident and emergency departments are 'the envy of the world', according to a Department of Health report, but need more doctors if care is to improve further.
The report, written by the emergency care czar Sir George Alberti, said that 96% of patients were being seen within four hours of arriving at A&E.
In a presentation in Downing Street, attended by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Health Secretary John Reid and NHS staff, Alberti said this was a significant improvement. He added that there were 159 more A&E consultants than in 1999, but up to 1,000 more were needed and it could take eight years for a full complement to be achieved.
'At the beginning of last year, almost a quarter of patients spent more than four hours in A&E. Now it is less than one in 20 patients. In just over two months, it is set to be just one in 50 or less.
'The A&E target was more ambitious than any international equivalent. The NHS has transformed its emergency care performances so that it is now the envy of the world,' he said.
The report, Transforming emergency care in England, said the NHS compared favourably with the health services in Australia, Canada and the US. In the US, a 2002 study found that 28% of patients spent more than four hours in the emergency department, and there was no sign of this improving.
Alberti's claims were backed by staff, who said that the four-hour target had made them reassess the way they work.
Alistair McGowan, president of the Faculty of Accident and Emergency Medicine, said: 'The lot of the patient in the emergency department has improved greatly as a consequence of the recent focus on access to patient care.'
Lynda Holt, chair of the Royal College of Nursing emergency care association, added: 'The four-hour target has made us look at how we work… For patients, it means quicker access to someone who can make decisions.'
However, Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow said: 'Overworked staff and frustrated patients will not recognise this perfect picture of a shiny, happy A&E.'
PFoct2004
