It was reported recently by the BBC that the pressure on NHS emergency services is getting worse. So how do we know this? Patients are waiting longer than normal for ambulance support. Increased number of NHS staff sickness and increased number of patients going to A& E for urgent care.
Possible causes for these could be that patients are struggling to see their G.P. and staff sickness could be due to a combination of fatigue and exhaustion caused by the pandemic.
So what does this all mean in reality? Patients in need of urgent medical care such as those with suspected heart attacks and strokes are having to wait more than 50 minutes on average for an ambulance to arrive as opposed to within the target time of 18 minutes. A & E waiting times for more than 21, 000 patients meant more than 12 hours of wait. An increase number of 999 calls, and patients having to wait in Emergency department when brought in by ambulance. This in turns means paramedics are prevented from attending on the next urgent patient because they are waiting longer to hand over the patient who is waiting in emergency department. A cycle of mishaps which sadly does not help the patient in need nor does it give those giving the care a sense that they are doing all they can.
We know whether from direct experience or through what we hear, and read in the media, that the NHS is under pressure, as it is still working hard to deal with the backlog caused by the pandemic. However, from the patient perspective, the problems causing the pressure on the NHS is of no concern to them when they badly need medical care they are entitled to receive when they need it the most. What we see more and more, as lawyers representing victims of medical negligence, is we have more calls from patients where there has been a delay in diagnosis and a delayed treatment of serious medical condition. While not all enquiries will result in actual claims, there will be some legitimate cases where there has been a significant failure of medical care and delay causing long term damage which would not have happened otherwise.
We help in cases of medical negligence in the UK. We have many years of experience in securing medical compensation in the UK. If you or your loved one need help and advice, please make an appointment for a free consultation.
If you would like to have an informal chat with our Clinical Negligence experts in confidence to see if you have a viable claim then please complete the contact form on our website and we will give you a call back at a time convenient to you or please call/ contact Daxa Patel, Clinical Negligence Partner & Solicitor by contacting us on 0330 107 0107 or email clinicalnegligence@imd.co.uk. Once we are contacted by you, one of our helpful team members will contact you. Please note we have a team of lawyers who speak many languages including English, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Lithuanian.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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