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Response to winter pressures in acute services : analysis from the Winter Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit
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Atkin, Catherine, Knight, Tom, Subbe, Chris, Holland, Mark, Cooksley, Tim and Lasserson, Daniel (2022) Response to winter pressures in acute services : analysis from the Winter Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit. BMC Health Services Research, 22 (17). 17. doi:10.1186/s12913-021-07355-7 ISSN 1472-6963.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07355-7
Abstract
Background
There is increased demand for urgent and acute services during the winter months, placing pressure on acute medicine services caring for emergency medical admissions. Hospital services adopt measures aiming to compensate for the effects of this increased pressure. This study aimed to describe the measures adopted by acute medicine services to address service pressures during winter.
Methods
A survey of acute hospitals was conducted during the Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit, a national day-of-care audit, on 30th January 2020. Survey questions were derived from national guidance.
Acute medicine services at 93 hospitals in the United Kingdom completed the survey, evaluating service measures implemented to mitigate increased demand, as well as markers of increased pressure on services.
Results
All acute internal medicine services had undertaken measures to prepare for increased demand, however there was marked variation in the combination of measures adopted. 81.7% of hospitals had expanded the number of medical inpatient beds available. 80.4% had added extra clinical staff. The specialty of the physicians assigned to provide care for extra inpatient beds varied. A quarter of units had reduced beds available for providing Same Day Emergency Care on the day of the survey. Patients had been waiting in corridors within the emergency medicine department in 56.3% of units.
Conclusion
Winter pressure places considerable demand on acute services, and impacts the delivery of care. Although increased pressure on acute hospital services during winter is widely recognised, there is considerable variation in the approach to planning for these periods of increased demand.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | |||||||||
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| Subjects: | R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine R Medicine > RC Internal medicine |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School | |||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Hospitals -- Emergency services -- Great Britain, Medical emergencies -- Great Britain | |||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | BMC Health Services Research | |||||||||
| Publisher: | Biomed central | |||||||||
| ISSN: | 1472-6963 | |||||||||
| Official Date: | 2 January 2022 | |||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 22 | |||||||||
| Number: | 17 | |||||||||
| Article Number: | 17 | |||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12913-021-07355-7 | |||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | |||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | |||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | |||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 22 November 2021 | |||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 10 January 2022 | |||||||||
| RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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