A&E services threatened by trainee shortages

19 April 2010

HOSPITAL emergency departments are struggling to cope with new problems over junior doctor recruitment.

Hospitals in England and Ireland have reported serious staff shortages in recent weeks.

In Rochdale, Greater Manchester, hospital bosses are considering closing an A&E unit at night because of difficulties in recruiting doctors. Under the plans, Rochdale Infirmary would divert emergency ambulances to nearby hospitals in Oldham and north Manchester after midnight and into the early hours.

The closure could come into force as early as this autumn, but health chiefs at Pennine Acute said a public consultation would be held before any decisions were made.

They said the plans were at an early stage and were being proposed in a bid to solve the problems they are having recruiting junior doctors to work in A&E. They said there should be 33 junior or medium grade doctors in the four emergency departments they run in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and north Manchester but 17 posts are empty. These include six posts at the infirmary, only one of which is filled.

Tom Wilders, operations director of Pennine Acute, told Manchester Evening News: “There is a problem at this trust and nationally with recruiting staff-grade doctors, a lot of whom work in A&E. There are fewer of them about because changes to doctors’ training means there are fewer of them and the rules on overseas doctors have changed, making it harder to employ them.”

Hospitals in Ireland are reporting similar staffing issues. At the beginning of March, there were a reported 34 unfilled senior house officer posts out of around 200, according to new figures.

This was causing delays in treatment, according to Dr James Binchy, a spokesman for emergency consultants.

He said: “The significant number of unfilled posts has meant that individual shifts are not being covered, with resultant reductions in the number of doctors on duty, or their place is taken by locum doctors, if available, who may be unfamiliar with individual hospital processes. This invariably results in longer waiting times for patients.” He blamed the lack of staff on a reduction in applications from junior doctors, many of whom have emigrated.