05.06.13
A domino effect?
Warnings over struggling emergency departments are springing up across the NHS, with reports each day detailing the challenges and offering solutions.
The difficulty can be attributed to a number of causes, namely rising demand, wider financial issues, and insufficient primary and community care. The first cannot be stopped, although it may be mitigated by better public health and awareness measures of the most appropriate care pathway for patients.
The second is an ongoing challenge that trusts are dealing with, with varying degrees of success. It is also one which will improve once a more efficient service is established.
This leads us to primary care, highlighted by both Monitor and the FTN as an issue that must be urgently addressed. The public would welcome a 24 hour service to make their busy lives easier, but how far would a different model of primary care affect A&E?
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