Asons Solicitors Comment on Medics Opposition to 24/7 NHS Care
Bolton, UK (PRWEB UK) 2 July 2013 -- After the British Medical Association’s annual conference, medical staff have disapproved of government plans to extend out of hours GP care. The aforementioned plans aim to increase the presence of doctors in hospitals for the entire duration of the weekend (1).
According to The Telegraph, Sir Bruce Keogh, the medical director of NHS England, is conducting a review of the health service in order to better improve the urgent and emergency care sector, and making a statement of saying that hospitals need to follow the example of supermarket giant Tesco, who have modernised their system of operating in order to fulfill the needs of their customers (1).
The review of care follows research that was conducted last month that shows that patients are 44 per cent more likely to die after surgery that is done at the end of the week, than patients that have exactly the same surgery at the beginning of the week (1). It is thought by experts that these massive differences in survival rates are to do with the issues that hospitals have with patients receiving poor levels of care at weekends where there are less doctors on duty. However, according to a report by The Guardian, medical staff that attended the recent BMA conference object to the suggestion of having more staff on duty at weekends, because they feel that it would stretch already limited resources even further; thus ultimately become more of a risk to exposing patients to clinical negligence (1).
Asons Executive Suzanne Yates commented on the 24/7 proposition saying:
“Budgets providing, I can’t see the harm in having a health service that provides a good level of care on weekends! People’s health isn’t dictated by the day of the week, so it seems ludicrous that doctors would object to providing more care on these days to accommodate that.
“Seeing the figures that suggest patients are 44 percent more likely to die on weekends is astounding; no one should be exposed to that level of neglect from a service that they contribute towards, and these professionals are supposed to have their best interests at heart”. (1)
As reported in The Telegraph, Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA’s UK council said:
“The calls we sometimes hear for a Tesco NHS - full service, 24/7 - are just ridiculous when the health service can barely afford its current model.”
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a member of BMA Council, said: “It is utter folly to compare the NHS with seven days a week supermarket opening and convenience; Tesco opens seven days for commercial reasons alone, Tesco draws income by being open on Sundays – and equally it would close down a store without hesitation if unprofitable.”
He continues to express his disapproval by saying that the NHS was a public service operating within “a fixed inadequate budget, and with a responsibility to manage its overstretched resource for maximum health gain”.
“This ill-conceived, populist agenda of seven days a week routine care is a luxury the NHS cannot afford and would be an irresponsible use of the public purse - which would not only bankrupt the NHS but compromise safe care and equity of care for patients,” said Dr Nagpaul in The Telegraph (1).
What seems to be the main concern of hospitals is that if budgets have to stretch in order to provide extra care over the weekend, it will affect the level of care that patients receive during the week- overall not improving, but adding to levels of substandard care and rinsing budgets that are already too small to cope with (1).
Suzanne Yates continued to say:
“Although I feel that Sir Keogh has the right intentions, there needs to be some major planning around how it would be put into action- finding a way to responsibly and effectively provide good health care to all people on every day of the week. Medical negligence is unacceptable, and the systems in place right now are allowing it to happen.”
Injury or death that has been caused by a lack of staff in a hospital is a form of medical negligence, and anyone who has been affected by this may able to claim for compensation. To find out more information on medical negligence claims visit Asons Solicitors at http://www.asons.co.uk or phone 01204 521 133.
(1) The Telegraph, 'The NHS is not Tesco', say doctors, 24/06/2013
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10139256/The-NHS-is-not-Tesco-say-doctors.html
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About Asons Solicitors:
Asons Solicitors is a Bolton-based law practice that specialises in personal injury and industrial disease claims. Founded by brothers Imran Akram and Kamran Akram, Asons Solicitors has developed to become a young and dynamic law firm that delivers practical solutions to clients in times of difficulty. Their continued focus on their staff has seen them awarded with the Investors in People “Gold Award”; which is reflected in the professional and personable approach they take in working with clients. They strive to grow and to develop, and their supportiveness and attention to detail ensures that their clients use them time and again.
For further information contact:
Email: info (at) asons (dot) co.uk
Website: http://www.asons.co.uk
John King, Asons Solicitors, http://www.asons.co.uk, 08448 408 012, [email protected]
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