GP referrals fall amid claims of rationed care in stretched NHS

Department of Health data shows 4.7% fewer patients referred for first hospital consultation in April-July period of this year The number of patients being referred by their GP to see a hospital specialist has dropped by almost 5% over the past year, prompting fresh concern that access to care is being rationed as a direct result of the pressure on NHS finances. GPs in England referred about 3.6 million patients for a first hospital consultation between April and July, according to data from the Department of Health (DoH). That was 4.7% fewer than the same period in 2010 – 3.8 million referrals. The number of patients being seen by consultants after a GP’s referral also fell during the same period, from 3.1 million last year to 2.9 million – a drop of 5.2%. The two sets of figures do not match because many patients remain on waiting lists. The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ trade association, said that reductions in patients’ access to healthcare were happening more often. “The NHS is under a lot of pressure to do less, for example through referral management initiatives, which seem to be on the increase. These may save money but for every lost referral there is a patient who is not getting diagnosed or treated, and a hospital that is more likely to encounter financial problems,” said a BMA spokesman. John Healey , the shadow health secretary, also warned that some patients may be missing out on drugs, surgery or other treatment because of the falling number of referrals. “While it is important to reduce demand for hospital care, patients will want reassuring that they are not being denied necessary treatment,” he said. “These figures show the huge pressure on hospital finances at a time when David Cameron is wasting millions of pounds reorganising the NHS bureaucracy.” The NHS in England is struggling as its budget increase this year is just 0.1% – after a decade of big annual rises – while it seeks to save £20bn by 2015. The efficiency drive was ordered by the NHS’s chief executive, Sir David Nicholson, in 2009, intending to free resources for the growing number of patients, especially elderly people, with long-term conditions such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Nicholson has told the NHS several times not to limit services in order to meet the target. But Dr Clare Gerada, the chairwoman of the Royal College of General Practitioners , said the fall in referrals could be due to better care by GPs and the NHS’s efforts to reduce patients’ unnecessary hospital visits, as well as preventative medical help. The DoH denied that “less hospital activity” meant care was being cut. “Far from it,” said a spokesman. “We would expect to see this trend as the NHS helps prevent more people becoming unwell and provides more services in the community, closer to patients’ homes. Alongside more day-case surgery, this is a clear sign that the NHS is working more effectively for patients and more efficiently for taxpayers.” He added: “Decisions on appropriate referrals should be made by clinicians in the local NHS in line with the best available clinical evidence.” NHS Health GPs Doctors Denis Campbell guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 9, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.