Emergency medical services in many parts of England are falling short, a government watchdog warns today.
Investigators found a child with a broken limb is likely to wait at least an hour for a painkiller in some accident and emergency departments – which report just 20 per cent of child patients getting timely treatment for pain.
The report is based on findings from Primary Care Trusts in England and is compiled by the Healthcare Commission. It finds that 60 per cent of PCTs are "performing well".
But it finds massive variations in the way departments operate around the country. Some will return ambulances to the road within 15 minutes of them delivering a patient. In some just ten per cent of ambulances are released speedily.
It states there have been huge improvements in waiting times A&E services and response times for ambulances, and commends NHS Direct for "providing an increasingly popular and important service" and exceeding its call handling targets.
However, the Healthcare Commission says further improvements are necessary.
They will be working with the department of health to address gaps in the system, such as providing "more integrated, accessible and convenient services that are well promoted to local communities".
They also recommend that a new target is set on the time from a patient first calls for help – whether it’s calling 999, NHS Direct or GP out-of-hours services.
The National Director for Emergency Access, Professor Sir George Alberti, welcomed the results of this report.
He said: "Urgent and emergency care offered across most of the NHS to millions of people each year is of a high standard [but] we are not complacent and we recognise the importance of encouraging continuous improvement in local services to ensure the delivery of timely, high quality care to patients."
Sir George said that three national events will be held to help PCTs use these results in planning the future of their emergency care services.
New "best practice guidance" has recently been issued on urgent care pathways for major conditions among older people with complex needs, he added.
Commission chief executive Anna Walker said: "People often don’t know which services to use, and too often have to repeat their story time and again because services don’t always share information effectively.
"Navigating between services can be difficult and confusing for patients and this can have a real impact, especially on people with more complex needs, such as older people and people with disabilities. Integrating services across a local area will help address these challenges."
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