Adrian Boyle consultant emergency physician and chair of the quality emergency care committee, Ian Higginson consultant emergency physician and registrar
Boyle A, Higginson I.
This emergency department crisis was predictable—and partly preventable
BMJ 2018; 360 :k64
doi:10.1136/bmj.k64
Re: This emergency department crisis was predictable—and partly preventable
The problem is obvious and there is a consensus on causation but solutions require imagination. Unfortunately the authors fail to address ideas for improvement.
Crises like this generally occur in winter. Hotels do better in summer. The GMC prevents recently retired doctors from working. There is £350milion in the pot. We pay benefits to the unemployed.
Why can’t we rent virtually empty hotels in January and February to act as hospital overflows staffed by recently retired doctors, recipients of employment benefits and those on community service (perhaps augmented, God Forgive, by relatives)?
The BMA has fought for a closed shop since Bevan put his idea for an NHS into practice: can we please stop moaning for more money and adjust to the reality? The GMC claims to protect patients: can’t it relax its rules temporarily?
Other ideas for solutions would enhance the public face of a BMA that diagnoses but doesn’t offer cures.
Competing interests: A relative was hospitalised 2 weeks ago with a fractured neck of femur but died of hospital acquired flu a week later.