By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Health leaders are worried that the knock-on effect of people not getting to see a GP means they are being unnecessarily sent to hospital, which is putting “sustained pressure” on hospitals.
Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust saw ten per cent more people seek urgent or emergency care in February and March than the same period last year.
The trust runs King’s Mill Hospital in Mansfield and Newark Hospital.
A board meeting on Thursday (April 4) heard concerns that patients were struggling to see their GPs or local pharmacist, which was causing more people to visit their emergency department.
Chief Executive Paul Robinson said: “We have seen high demand for urgent care recently, around ten per cent higher than last year.
“This means patients are waiting longer than we would wish, and there is sustained pressure on the system.”
He added that the trust was attempting to divert suitable patients at King’s Mill Hospital into primary care like GPs and pharmacies rather than the emergency department.
A report says that both ambulance admissions and emergency walk-ins remain high.
The trust has been forced to take measures to relieve overcrowding several times in the last month. This included creating extra capacity on wards, cancelling meetings for all clinical staff and diverting patients where possible.
Dr Aly Rashid, non-executive director of the trust, said: “You hear that people ring 111 and are immediately directed to hospitals.
“Unless this is eased, demand will keep rising year on year.”
He added: “There is a lot of substitution in primary care with non-doctors who can’t distinguish between serious and less serious conditions. Their default position will be to send the patient to hospital.”
Rachel Eddie, Chief Operating Officer, said the issue had been raised with the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (a partnership of all local health services.)
“There are patients coming to A&E that could be dealt with elsewhere, but it’s not a quick fix – primary care is under immense pressure,” she added.
“There’s lots of anecdotal evidence about this but it’s hard to get the numbers.
“We are talking about what primary care can do differently.”
The trust says that despite pressures, it is reducing the number of patients facing long waits for planned procedures.
It also claims to be one of the best trusts in the county for ambulance handover – an issue which is causing thousands of hours to be lost every month at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.
Dr Dave Briggs, Medical Director at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, said: “Both Primary and Secondary care are under significant pressure and we are in constant dialogue with all areas of the health and care system about how we can all work better in the best interests of our patients.
“It is normal for patients to move both ways between primary and secondary care during their treatment, using agreed referral pathways. Most referrals from Primary Care are made by GPs, however in some instances, other specialists such as physiotherapists or mental health practitioners may also make referrals. Who can refer will have been agreed by both Primary and Secondary Care when the referral pathway was created.
“There has been continued, significant growth in the number of GP appointments being provided in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire over the last 12 months. The latest data shows that, during February this year alone, 645,406 appointments were provided in our area, an increase of more than 70,000 on the same month last year.”