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DOCTORS WELCOME PRIVATE SECTOR INTO
NHS WITH OPEN ARMS - AS WORKFORCE PRESSURES TAKE THEIR
TOLL
Doctors from across the UK have declared overwhelming
support today (3/12/03) for more private sector involvement
in the NHS. New research has found that 72% of consultants
believe that Government should use the private sector
to care for patients - if this helps to reduce waiting
lists.
Almost every hospital doctor interviewed for this
research also believed that greater private sector
involvement in the NHS was inevitable: 81 % said that
private sector would play a significant or slight
role in the running of the NHS in the medium term.
Set against a backdrop of ongoing scepticism about
Foundation Hospitals, these finding may suggest to
Government that many doctors do still believe that
the private sector has a role to play in the National
Health Service.
Air Products is the UK's fastest growing medical
gases supplier and commissioned the research in response
to increasing requests for additional support and
services from both doctors and patients in the UK.
67 consultants were surveyed by the market research
company Medix between the 25th and 29th of November.
The research found that doctors are feeling the pressures
of an increasing burden on their time. EVERY doctor
was concerned about the impact of the European Working
Time Directive - all 67 consultants believe that the
new regulation which limits hours spent at work will
have a moderate to large impact on their workload.
Coupled with ongoing concerns about the shortage of
consultants (76%) and new administration pressures
(73%), hospital consultants are more willing than
ever to accept private sector support for the care
of their patients.
Air Products currently supplies medical oxygen and
related equipment to thousands of patients across
the UK and in response to demand, is now introducing
a new service to further support the NHS. This is
a supported Early Discharge Scheme, allowing respiratory
patients to return home sooner, once their condition
has stabilised and specific criteria are met. Following
their release, patients are supported with daily clinical
care and attention from a qualified nurse in their
own home, thereby releasing hospital beds and helping
to free up doctors' time.
Early discharge services have also been shown to
speed patient recovery, reduce the risk of infection
and improve patient choice. They can also have a significant
impact on the NHS as respiratory disease places a
particularly large burden on its resources; respiratory
emergency medical admissions account for on average
18.8% of all emergency medical admissions in the UK,
while the average length of stay for COPD patients
in UK is 9.7 days 1. The Air Products Early Discharge
scheme is being launched at the start of the British
Thoracic Society's Winter Meeting in Westminster today.
Commenting on the findings, Colin Smith, general
manager for Air Products' UK and Ireland medical business,
said: "This research confirms what doctors
have been telling us for months - that they would
welcome private sector support in the care of their
patients. The European Working Time Directive, ongoing
shortage of consultants and ever-tightening targets
are placing increasing burdens on doctors' time. Many
are worried about the impact this will have on levels
of patient care. We believe that our Early Discharge
Scheme will help respiratory doctors to get patients
across the UK home sooner and relieve some of the
daily pressures they are facing on the wards."
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