QE2 hospital

A&E changes at Hertfordshire hospitals ‘have not been pain free’

By Chris Lennon, News editor Sunday, February 5, 2012
12:05 PM

CLAIMS from health chiefs that changes to overnight A&E provision at the QE2 Hospital have been successfully implemented have been refuted – by patients.

‘Beds were found for all who needed them’ – health chiefs

HEALTH bosses have stood firm on the criticism regarding the A&E changes – saying every patient who needed to be admitted to the Lister Hospital was found a bed.

Neil Dardis, director of operations at the East and North Herts NHS Trust, said they had been monitoring the situation on a daily basis, since the overnight arrangements changed on January 16.

He said: “What is clear is that the majority of people attending the overnight service have had minor injuries – those with minor illnesses have been referred to the nearby GP out-of-hours service.

“Where patients have had a condition that required transport to the Lister, our staff – on each and every occasion – have been able to stablise them and arrange for their transfer.

“These decisions have been made on clinical need and every patient who needed to go to the Lister has done so.”

Mr Dardis said that week had been “an exceptionally busy period” for emergency services across the NHS, not just here in Hertfordshire.

“Inevitably this can lead to some delay in admissions, but throughout that week we admitted every patient who needed a hospital bed at the Lister – including the relatively few who had been transferred up to the hospital following an attendance at the overnight QE2 service.

“Had the service not changed, then those patients would have faced very similar waits being admitted to the QE2.”

Mr Dardis added: “Overall, the changes have gone smoothly but we are not complacent and will continue to monitor the situation very closely over the coming days and weeks.”

As of January 16, only adults with minor injuries are seen at the WGC hospital between 8pm and 8am.

Casualties with serious or life-threatening injuries are taken to the Lister in Stevenage – or other nearest appropriate hospital – instead.

In the Welwyn Hatfield Times’ January 18 edition, Nick Carver, chief executive of the East and North Herts NHS Trust, said the first night of the changes “went smoothly”, and that no-one seen at the QE2 had to be transferred to the Lister.

But Welwyn Hatfield Times readers have poured scorn on his claims – saying the reason there were no transfers was because there were no beds at the Stevenage hospital.

Commenting on our website, ‘phil’ said: “My mother-in-law was taken into hospital late Monday evening.

“The ambulance crew told us we would have to go to another hospital, as Lister A&E was queuing.”

Another website user, ‘JackyT10’, said he was also told there was a “severe shortage” of beds available at the Lister.

“Whether or not this was a result of the QE2’s emergency department closure is up for speculation as it is still at the very early stages of the change, but it does seem rather suspicious doesn’t it?”

Amy Marshall contacted the Welwyn Hatfield Times to say she was admitted to A&E at the QE2 on the afternoon of January 16 suffering from severe stomach pains.

She was transferred up to the Lister early evening after her pain was brought under control – but she arrived to find there were no beds.

Amy said: “I was kept on a trolley in a corridor for a number of hours due to their being no beds.

“This trolley was then moved into the ‘examination room’ where patients are looked over and where doctors and nurses wash their hands and prepare equipment.

“I was left there until 5am Tuesday morning when a doctor eventually came to see me.

“This doctor examined me, and informed me there were no beds available and I would have to spend the rest of the night on the trolley in a room that people had been coming and going from all night.

“I would like to know who exactly thinks the transfer over to the Lister is a success?

“After talking to a number of the nurses at the QE2, there seem to be a lot of patients and staff who are appalled at the way it is being handled.”