A&E departments warned on pain relief delays

Some accident and emergency departments are not providing patients with pain relief quickly enough, a report from the healthcare watchdog has warned.

A study of 170 A&E departments in England by the Healthcare Commission found that only 53% of units provided children, who were suffering moderate or severe pain from fractures, pain relief within an hour of arrival.

The study also found that only 42% of units provided pain relief within an hour for older patients suffering from hip fractures.

According to guidance from the British Association for Emergency Medicine, which represents A&E consultants, pain relief should be provided within 20 minutes of arrival for patients in severe pain.

However, the report found that hospitals were successfully tackling waiting times, with 98% of patients visiting A&E departments being seen within four hours.

71% of patients also rated the care received in A&E departments as excellent or good.

Healthcare Commission chief executive Anna Walker said that hospitals now had to concentrate on tackling variations in the quality of care. She said: “A&E departments now have to go the extra mile if they are to deliver the care that patients need and that means focusing on quality as well as waiting.”

Responding to the report, Health Minister Lord Warner said: "A&E services have been making excellent progress over the last two years, and we are pleased that this report reflects this. Our A&E management data shows week-in-week-out since March the NHS has seen 98% of patients within four hours.

"Not only is the NHS improving access, but it is working hard to deliver consistently high standards of clinical care in A&E. The four-hour target is helping to raise clinical standards and we are developing new measures for the quality of care patients receive. These new benchmarks will be used to secure even more improvements and greater consistency across the NHS."

(KMcA/SP)