Clinical Negligence Solicitors

New figures for A&E departments in England show that waiting times are the worst for ten years in England.

The Guardian reports that the average waiting time target A&E units achieved in England was 91.8% of patients being seen, treated, discharged or referred/admitted within four hours – the target is at least 95% of patients being seen and discharged or referred/admitted within four hours.

In the last three months, waiting times have been missed by the biggest margin for ten years. Up to December 2014, 92.6% of patients were seen and discharged or referred within four hours at A&E departments across England.

There is currently underway a recruitment drive to sign up 400 paramedics from Australia to work in the NHS to fill vacancies.

A&E staff have reported more elderly people using A&E departments for primary healthcare and chronic conditions – as well as more mental health patients presenting at A&E unable to obtain support from services in their areas. Some mental health trusts have cut budgets by 20% and introduced more phone line help rather than inpatient acute care to reduce costs and help prevent patients from becoming institutionalised in mental health hospitals.

There has also been increased pressure at A&E from NHS patients unable to make a GP appointment – with a rising population across the UK requiring access to health services.

The national director of commissioning operations for NHS England, Dr Barbara Hakin, said that A&E units were doing well despite the increasing demands on them.

“The NHS has continued to deliver good services for patients – with last week seeing the highest number of emergency admissions this year,” she said.

“In the last 12 months, we have seen more than 22 million patients at A&E – an increase of 2.7% on 2013-14, with more than 5.4 million emergency admissions, an increase of 4% on the previous year.

“In the face of this intense and ongoing pressure, our staff continued to admit or treat and discharge more than nine out of 10 patients within four hours.

“This represents an incredible effort by NHS staff over the course of the year.”

Pressures have also been placed on many A&E departments in recent years by the number of people admitted for alcohol-related injuries or simply because they are incapacitated through misusing alcohol. New Labour relaxed licensing laws while in office and a culture of “binge drinking” became a major challenge for the NHS as a result.

In Scotland there have recently been calls to restrict sales of alcohol solely to adults over the age of 21, to prevent teenagers binge drinking.

US researchers from the University of Illinois in Chicago have also recently released the findings of a rodent study, which reveal that alcohol use in young rats is linked to permanent changes in the brain which cause a higher risk of suffering mental health conditions like anxiety.

It is thought a cancer drug currently available may counter the changes seen in the brain as a result of alcohol misuse – and researchers say human studies are needed to gauge the effects of alcohol misuse in young adults and children, to establish how the cancer drug could be used to treat alcohol-related anxiety conditions.

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors – No win no fee Claims Against Paramedics

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of no win no fee clinical negligence solicitors able to advise on claims against paramedics and A&E staff for negligent care, including compensation claims relating to:

• Delays in A&E treatment leading to injury
• Failure to diagnose in A&E
• Failure to refer in A&E
• Misdiagnosis by paramedics/A&E
• Prescribing errors in A&E
• Triage errors in A&E
• Wrong medical treatment in A&E.

Clinical negligence claimants usually have three years in which to make a compensation claim – and children can make a clinical negligence claims up to the age of 21.

For expert legal advice on making no win no fee Claims Against Paramedics for negligent A&E care, call Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors on 020 7923 4020.