A&E opening hours ‘to be slashed at hospitals across the country’ due to severe doctor shortages
Some hospitals will be forced to close their emergency departments overnight, despite an annual 6.4 per cent rise in patients
PATIENTS should brace themselves for further A&E closures as a crippling shortage of staff rocks hospitals across the country, doctors and MPs warned yesterday.
Opening hours at the A&E department of the Grantham and District Hospital in Lincolnshire will be slashed due to a “severe shortage” of doctors.
The local trust has been unable to attract sufficient numbers of qualified staff, despite offering “premium” rates to medics both at home and abroad.
Dr Suneil Kapadia, a director at United Lincolnshire Hospital Trust, which runs the hospital, said a three-month trial closure will come into effect immediately, as a crisis point has been reached.
He said the decision will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and added: “We are a victim of the severe shortage of doctors across the country.
“I have a great deal of empathy and sympathy for the local people but doing it this way will make it safer for patients.
He said the closure was not a money-saving measure and will actually cost the trust “more money to do what we are doing”.
The news comes after Lancashire's Chorley Hospital downgraded its emergency department to an "urgent care service" in April and started shutting its doors at night - claiming a shortage of medics meant there were “no other safe options".
MPs said the move reflects a deepening financial and staffing crisis within the health service and may only be the “tip of the iceberg”, predicting more closures as the NHS battles to reduce last year’s £2.45 billion deficit.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine says doctors are put off working in A&E because the pressure is “relentless” and regular weekend and night shifts upset their work-life balance.
Dr Clifford Mann, the College's president, said: “The closure of Grantham A&E is indicative of the crisis facing emergency medicine.
“We have already seen similar situations and are likely to see this happen more frequently unless urgent action is taken to address the national shortage of emergency medicine doctors."
“The wider picture is there is a real crisis in emergency medicine as our workforce numbers are not growing fast enough to keep pace with rising numbers of patients attending A&E departments.
“The system is creaking at present.”
The British Medical Association warned closures risk triggering a vicious circle - where extra pressure is piled on nearby hospitals, increasing the risk of burnout among their staff, and making A&E a less appealing career choice to trainee doctors.
They say additional funding is needed to increase staffing levels, especially as recent figures show a 6.4 per cent year-on-year rise in A&E attendances across England.
Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA, said: “More closures will inevitably follow unless the government agrees to fund public healthcare services to the same level as other European countries."
Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “I am shocked by the plans to close an emergency department at night.
“The decision puts lives in danger and is a result of the critical staffing crisis across the NHS.
“It’s recklessly irresponsible to suggest to patients that they could wait till the morning to receive treatment.
She added: “I fear this closure is only the tip of the iceberg and other hospitals across the country may soon be forced to follow suit.”
Nick Boles, Conservative MP for Grantham and Stamford, said United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust had been badly run for two decades.
And he expressed concern that the move is a step towards permanent closure of A&E services there.
He said of the closure: “If it has to be done for patient safety it has to be done. But I think it is a sign of ongoing poor management at the trust.
“The trust has been losing money hand over fist and cannot recruit staff.”
Furious local patients at the 184-bed hospital in Grantham, blasted the decision as “complete madness.”
Retired welder Albert Leeton, 67, said: “It’s absolutely disgusting. The council is backing plans for 10,000 new homes and what are people meant to do for hospital care at night?”
His disabled wife Mary, 64, who suffers from lung cancer and blood clotting, added: “If I’m poorly at night I’ll have to travel twice as far to anther hospital get help – that’s three buses each way rather than a short cab ride here. It’s complete madness.”
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School hygiene assistant Claire Baker, 31, said: “Kids in particular need A&E at hand 24-7. You can’t predict when someone is going to have an accident.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said: ““We are monitoring the situation in Lincolnshire closely and the Trust is working with NHS Improvement to resolve this issue urgently.
“We expect patient safety to be paramount in any decision the Trust takes about their A&E departments.”