news bites

US emergency rooms in trouble

The US emergency medical system lacks space, staff, and equipment, and almost nothing has been done to bring things back from near breaking point despite numerous warnings, emergency room professionals told Congress.

Three Institute of Medicine reports issued in June found severe problems in emergency rooms and other emergency medical services, including rising demand at a time when bed numbers have fallen and hundreds of emergency departments have closed. Doctors and legislators said they were worried about what would happen if a flu pandemic or other large scale disaster occurred.

“I can tell you without qualification that the emergency care system in this country in general... is worse today than it was last year, and if we don't change things by next year it will be worse than it was today,” Dr Rick Blum, an emergency room doctor and president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, told the legislators (www.reuters.com).

“Brain drain” blamed for Polish deaths

A Polish newspaper has linked the death of an 83 year old man to a shortage …