Time to put patients first

Though the sum in question is modest at face value, the principle being established by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an important one. A greater percentage of money needs to be spent on basic care than the cumbersome bureaucracy which props up the Health Service.

Yet, while the extra beds and staff are welcome, even this well-meant initiative will be counter-productive if patients nationwide continue to receive sub-standard care following major surgery.

This issue has again been pre-empted by Imperial College London research which concludes that patients are far more likely to die if they undergo operations towards the end of the week.

This conclusion certainly reflects the concerns of those doctors and nurses who blame their excessive workload on the growing crisis afflicting A&E care at hospitals across the country.

A contrary view, however, is provided by those surgeons who deliberately plan more high-risk operations for Thursdays and Fridays, treatment where there is no guarantee of the person concerned surviving the procedure. They say that there is less pressure on intensive care beds on those days – and that they can devote more time over a weekend to monitoring a seriously-ill patient’s condition.

Either way, shortcomings in care are exacerbating the fragile finances of the NHS in too many instances. If there was a greater focus on ensuring that individuals have the correct treatment in the first place, and that the risk of infection is kept to an absolute minimum, hospital beds would not be under so much pressure – and patients would not have to be discharged prematurely.

However, this needs to happen seven days a week if the culture of the NHS is going to change; it is self-defeating if such protocols are followed on weekdays and then disregarded at weekends because there are insufficient doctor and nurses. As such, the South Yorkshire initiative is very welcome – but it must also be matched by the highest possible care standards.