Posted on 12/18/2014 2:28:21 PM PST by Olog-hai
The number of patients forced to endure Accident & Emergency trolley waits of up to 12 hours has tripled in four years.
New figures from NHS England show that in November, 23,663 patients in England waited between four and 12 hours on a trolley in A&E. In November 2010, the figure was just 6,579. This month also saw 52 patients waiting in A&E for more than 12 hours, compared with just two in the same month four years ago.
The figures show the problems are greatest in London, with 273 waits of between four and 12 hours at Barts Health trust in the week ending Nov 23, and more than 200 in London North West Healthcare and Lewisham and Greenwich trusts.
Senior managers last night said they feared the NHS was entering the worst crisis seen for “at least a decade”. …
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I show my british co-worker articles like this but he does not believe them.... Of course he did move the United States!
What is an A&E trolley? Are these like trolley cars in San Francisco?
I suspect the US terminology is “emergency room gurney/stretcher”.
From the UK, an article from 2004:
Steps to improve efficiency and cut bureaucracy in NHS, UK
UK Health Secretary, John Reid, today published the implementation framework for the review of Department of Health’s Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB’s), setting out the first steps in reducing the number of bodies from 38 to 20.
John Reid said
“The organisation of arm’s length bodies has grown over several decades and no longer meets the health and social care needs of today or the future. In July I announced the completion of the review of my department’s arm’s length bodies (ALBs) and we are now delivering:
— a 50 per cent. reduction in the number of ALBs;
— a saving of 500 million in expenditure by ALBs by 2007-08; and
— a 25 per cent. reduction in posts in the same period.
“This is a vital step in the NHS’s long-term programme of reform to improve efficency and reduce bureaucracy. The framework document I am publishing today sets out a clear structure for the remaining arms length bodies, along with specific timescales for change.
“By improving efficiency and cutting bureaucracy in arms length bodies, this government is reducing the administrative burden on frontline NHS staff while freeing up extra resources for services for NHS patients.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/17075.php
And an article on the same subject 5 years later in 2009:
NHS bureaucracy bill soars by £78 million in two years
The amount spent on employing managers has risen by a quarter, or £78 million, in the past two years, the study shows. NHS Trusts blamed Whitehall targets for the increase.
It comes a day after NICE, the drugs rationing watchdog, refused funding for life-prolonging bowel cancer drug Avastin, saying it was not cost effective.
Pulse, a magazine for GPs, found that projected spending on management salaries has increased by 25 per cent between 2007/08 and 2009/10 in primary care trusts, which look after community services. It was up from £312 million to £390 million.
But the true figure is likely to be far higher, because only a third - 55 - of the 152 trusts responded.
The rise is largely down to trusts taking on more managers, with 15 that provided headcounts saying the number of posts had gone up 14 per cent.
These trusts also reported that the cost per manager had risen by 11 per cent. David Stout, director of the NHS Confederation’s PCT Network, said it was “unrealistic” for such increases to continue.
Seems the bureaucracy won.
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