Sharp rise in A&E services demand, BBC reports

The BBC has reported that there has been a surge in demand in A&E units, causing services to struggle.

NHS trusts have been forced to take extreme measures to cope with ‘exceptional’ pressures, with hospitals cancelling routine operations and considering the use of tents to act as separate treatment areas.

Statistics show there have been 45 temporary closures of A&E units over the past two weeks, a 50 per cent increase on the same period last year. This move is considered under extreme conditions when wards are full and waiting times are reaching their limits and involves sending ambulances to other hospitals.

Figures also found that the number of patients visiting A&E in England has rapidly increased from 20,000 the previous week to 340,000, a significant rise compared to the average figure for Winter.

A number of hospital bosses have reported concerns including: Coventry University Hospital cancelling all its routine operations on Wednesday and for part of Thursday because of ‘exceptional’ circumstances; GPs in north London being told to try to avoid referring patients to emergency departments in Ealing and Northwick Park because of ‘very high pressure’; a double-sized ambulance having to be parked outside Leicester Royal Infirmary last weekend (23-24 January) as A&E staff were struggling to cope with the numbers of patients being brought in, with bosses even discussing setting up a temporary treatment area in a tent; Royal Cornwall Hospital spending a week on black alert - a sign of extreme pressure - which led to routine operations being cancelled each day to free up resources. The black alert status was lifted only on Thursday (28 January); Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust also spending time on black alert this week (25-31 January) after ‘exceptional numbers of very sick, frail and elderly patients’ needed care; last weekend (23-24 January) NHS 111 seeing a ‘huge rise’ in calls - up by more than a quarter on the same weekend the year before; a snapshot poll of major UK A&E units by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggesting during the first three weeks of January between 80 per cent to 85 per cent of patients were seen in four hours - well below the 95 per cent target.

NHS England warned the pressures were likely to last until Spring.