16.02.15
Calls for government to intercede as A&E department faces ‘mass exodus’ of consultants
A patient group is calling for government intervention at a hospital where the entire consulting team of the A&E department resigned.
Four consultants from the Alexander Hospital in Redditch and another working at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital quit on Friday.
Both hospitals are part Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which has had to put an “urgent transition plan” into place.
The consultants' reasons for leaving are said to be "continuing uncertainty about the future of Redditch Hospital", according to the BBC.
There are fears that Redditch will lose its A&E department, leaving the consultants in limbo. The future of services at Alexandra Hospital is said to be in question because it is struggling to reach targets and treat a higher number of patients, according to the Malvern Gazette.
It has been reported that all five consultants have been offered jobs at Warwick Hospital. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, which runs that hospital, said it was "unable to comment".
The MP for Redditch, Conservative Karen Lumley, has written to the health secretary, saying: “We have to make sure the government looks at what's going on, and I have written to Jeremy Hunt. I will be raising this with him and with NHS England to see what's happening here."
Neil Stote, from the Save the Alex campaign group, told the BBC the resignations were a "damning indictment of the trust".
“We are calling for the government to intervene – for a different trust, one with a proven track record of recruiting and maintaining staff, to take over,” he said.
The Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said in a statement that managers would discuss departure details, including notice periods, with the consultants over the coming days.
The statement added: “The trust can confirm that it has received resignations from five emergency department consultants.
“It is believed all five consultants have received alternative offers of employment.
“We would wish to stress that services will continue to be provided as normal and an urgent transition plan will be put in place in conjunction with stakeholders to ensure that patients can continue to receive safe and high quality urgent care going forward.’
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine released a statement saying it was “concerned to learn of the resignation of five consultants from the emergency departments at Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and Worcestershire Royal Hospital”.
It added: “The local issues are a matter for the parties involved but the shortages of trained emergency medicine doctors are a national problem and endemic.”
(Image source: Peter Lloyd)
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