The NHS is to recruit around 260 additional doctors this winter, in an effort to ease the pressure on England’s accident and emergency units, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
An aging population is putting pressure on services, the Department of Health said, and bringing in junior and overseas doctors will help to strengthen A&E units over the winter, when there is generally more demand due to an increase in infections and other illnesses.
It said that 3,500 more people now go to A&E departments every day compared with 2010.
Additionally, separate research has suggested that A&E units are under increased pressure as a result of people being unable to get a GP appointment. Between 2012 and 2013, around 5.7 million people attended A&E after being unable to get an appointment with a GP, the research indicated.
“We know some parts of the NHS are under pressure because of increased demand,” said Jeremy Hunt. “That’s why we’re investing in a record number of A&E doctors so patients continue getting treated quickly.”
Health Education England (HEE) along with the College of Emergency Medicine has administered a recruitment drive for emergency medics to cope with the increasing demand. According to research conducted by the latter, there are currently only around three quarters of the number of consultants actually needed in England’s A&E unit, with the shortfall made up by locum doctors.
In January, Labour said the money spent on locum doctors to fill the gaps in A&E units in England had increased by 60% in the last three years.
Gordon Miles, Chief Executive of the College of Emergency Medicine said that recruiting extra junior and overseas doctors in A&E departments was “a great starting point” and “will help” but said A&E units were still missing the required numbers of experienced consultants.
Chris Woods, Medical Negligence Solicitor at Russell Worth solicitors said: “This is a positive step which will hopefully go some way to tackling the problems often brought on by the inevitably increased demands on doctors during the winter months.
“Several separate studies have suggested there is increased pressure on doctors as a result of people being unable to obtain GP appointments and this, coupled with seasonal changes, indicates that it is only sensible to increase the workforce to relieve pressure on these departments.”