23 December 2014

DAILY MAIL FAILURE of NHS

The deepening NHS crisis: Patients routinely wait 12 hours on trolleys, elderly 'bed blockers' kept in hospital for a year and overwhelmed GPs give TWO-minute consultations 

  • Reports paint picture of system creaking at seams amid rising population
  • Elderly patients kept in hospital for up to a year after being declared fit
  • NHS medical director demands 'zero' tolerance over long trolley waits
  • Boris Johnson urges public to take taxi to A&E rather than dialling 999 
Patients are facing a bleak end to the year as A&E units, GP surgeries and the ambulance service struggle to cope with unprecedented demand.
A string of reports yesterday painted a picture of a system creaking at the seams due to the rising population.
At one overcrowded inner city surgery, GPs are being forced to offer patients quickfire two-minute consultations just to ensure that they can be seen before Christmas.
Patients are facing a bleak end to the year as A&E units, GP surgeries and the ambulance service struggle to cope with unprecedented demand (file picture)
Patients are facing a bleak end to the year as A&E units, GP surgeries and the ambulance service struggle to cope with unprecedented demand (file picture)
A leaked letter from NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh has revealed people are now routinely waiting more than 12 hours on trolleys even after doctors have decided they need a hospital bed.
And only yesterday the Daily Mail revealed patients were resorting to queuing up outside another GP practice in Surrey at dawn just to get an appointment.
Last night, as Labour said the NHS was in danger of being ‘overwhelmed’, it also emerged that:
■ Elderly patients – so-called bed blockers – are being kept in hospital for up to a year after being declared fit for discharge;
■ Sir Bruce has written to hospital managers demanding a ‘zero tolerance’ of long trolley waits;
■ London Mayor Boris Johnson has urged the public to take a taxi to A&E rather than dialling 999 to help ease the pressure on the ambulance service.
A&E units are facing unprecedented strain and last week recorded their worst waiting times on record. On Monday, Sir Bruce wrote to hospital managers warning of a ‘worrying increase’ in patients spending more than four hours on trolleys in casualty.

LEGIONELLA E-NEWS

1.Health Officials Blame Infant Death in Texas on Legionella from Birthing Pool
Six days after being born in a heated birthing pool at home, an infant was taken to the hospital becausing of breathing problems and symptoms of infection. The doctors suspected Legionnaires' disease because of the birthing pool and thus ordered tests for Legionella, which came back positive. After 19 days in the hospital, the baby died. The result of the investgation, concluding the birthing pool was the source of the Legionella infection, was reported earlier this month.

Legionnaires' disease associated with birthing tubs has been reported in other countries including Japan and the UK. This is the first reported case in the US.
 
2. Eight Legionnaires' Cases at a Retirement Home in Spain
Last month eight cases of Legionnaires' disease were reported among residents of a retirement home in the northwest region of Spain. All eight were hospitalized but no deaths were reported. Around the same time, at least three cases of Legionnaires' were reported at another nursing home about 21 kilometers away.
 
3. Two Rhode Island Hospital Patients Diagnosed with Legionella Infections
Two patients at Rhode Island Hospital were diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease last month. Details about the number of days the case-patients had been in the hospital and their exposure to water were not reported. In response to the cases, the hospital provided bottled water for drinking and performed “superheating and flushing” of the plumbing system in at least one building.
 
4. Study Shows Increased Incidence of Legionnaires' Disease in New York City
A paper published by the CDC last month concluded that the incidence of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City increased 230% from 2002 to 2009 and that living in low income areas or having a job in transportation, repair, protective services, cleaning, or construction could be risk factors for community-acquired cases. The paper (Farnham A, Alleyne L, Cimini D, Balter S. 2014. Legionnaires’ Disease Incidence and Risk Factors, New York, New York, USA, 2002–2011. Emerging Infectious Diseases 20;11) is available at http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/11/pdfs/13-1872.pdf.