Welsh A&E doctors warn of patient concerns as winter pressures loom

Nation.Cymru staff

Senior A&E doctors across Wales have warned that patients face longer waits, more corridor care and a greater risk of harm this winter unless urgent action is taken.

Ten of the 11 Welsh emergency department clinical leads surveyed by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) said they were very or extremely concerned about the pressures ahead.

All 11 described pressure on their departments as high or very high at the time of the survey. Around three-quarters said it was much higher than at the same point last year.

RCEM said the Welsh respondents represented almost every emergency department in Wales.

Dr Rob Perry, the college’s Wales vice-president, said: “Emergency Departments across Wales have been struggling throughout the year. We had one of the toughest summers on record, leaving us little room to breathe as it is.

“What this means is that, when winter hits, we will have no spare capacity to stretch. I am deeply concerned about how the next few months will go.”

He warned that staff’s ability to protect patients was being undermined by the pressure on services.

“For our patients, this will mean more long waits, more corridor care and, I fear, more people coming to harm as a result,” he said.

“My colleagues and I will be there, rain or shine, to look after our patients – but there is only so much we can do when we are up against it.”

Dr Perry called on the Welsh Government to deliver on its pledge to prioritise emergency care, with more beds for patients needing admission and better resources to help people leave hospital when ready.

“The new Welsh Government has promised to make Emergency Care one of its key priorities. With winter fast approaching, the time to act is now,” he said.

“We need greater bed capacity for patients who need to be admitted, better resources to speed up discharges – and for ED overcrowding to be treated as the serious threat to life that it is.”

The survey gathered responses from 163 clinical leads across the UK. Of those, 91% were very or extremely concerned about winter pressures, while just 3% said their department was well prepared.

Two-thirds described their department as unsafe. That figure covers the UK as a whole; a separate Welsh breakdown was not provided.

‘Disgraceful’

RCEM president Dr Ian Higginson said: “Colleagues from across the four nations have been crystal clear: we simply are not ready for winter, and can barely manage as we are.

“We have patients lining our departments, many stuck in trolleys for hours upon hours. The sickest and most injured among them can’t get into a hospital bed and end up stuck with us, sometimes for days.

“It’s a disgraceful state of affairs and I cannot believe it has been allowed to get this bad.”

Responding to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s warning, Dr Manish Adke, chair of BMA
Cymru Consultants Committee, said: “These findings should leave nobody in any doubt about the scale of the pressure facing emergency departments across Wales. When 10 out of 11 clinical leads say they are very or extremely concerned about the winter ahead, and every respondent says pressures are already high or very high, they must be listened to.

“Doctors and their colleagues have been working under relentless pressure throughout the year. Corridor care remains an ongoing reality in Welsh hospitals, with patients too often being cared for in inappropriate spaces when services are overcrowded. This summer also brought periods of extreme heat, adding further pressure to already stretched services and staff. Winter is therefore not the start of
the pressure, but another layer on top of a system that has had little opportunity to recover.

“The Welsh Government has made urgent and emergency care a priority, but these findings show why action is needed now—not simply to see NHS Wales through another winter, but to tackle the long-standing workforce shortages, lack of capacity and delays in moving patients safely through hospitals and back into the community.

“This requires long-term, sustained investment across health and social care in Wales to reverse years of underfunding, understaffing and reduction in bed capacity in NHS Wales. Only then can we begin to reduce the year-round pressures driving staff towards burnout, end the routine use of corridor care and give patients the timely, safe care they deserve.”

Improvements

The Welsh Government said: “We recognise the concerns raised by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and thank emergency department staff for their continued dedication under significant pressure.

 “Demand for emergency and acute care remains high across Wales. Health boards and partners have winter plans in place to improve patient flow, strengthen system resilience and support timely discharge from hospital.

 “We will continue to work closely with clinicians, health boards, local government and professional bodies, including the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, as we take forward the required improvements.”

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