RCPE Press Release 24 June 2013
Commenting on a report in today’s The Herald, indicating that NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde is aiming to introduce seven day working for consultants in the new South Glasgow Hospital in 2015 [1], Dr Neil Dewhurst, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE), said,
“The RCPE is supportive of efforts designed to increase the level of consultant-delivered care provided to patients, including in the evenings and weekends. We contributed to the development of, and have subsequently endorsed, the standards for seven-day consultant present care produced by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in December 2012 [2]. These standards focus on the benefit to in-patients which would arise from daily review by consultants and the resulting opportunity for earlier discharge from hospital. This will clearly have resource implications in terms of increased consultant cover, increased multi-disciplinary support to provide diagnostic test results out of hours and ensuring that the resources are available in the community to support early discharge from hospital”.
“The potential model reported today, involving routine hospital out-patient appointments and scheduled treatment in the evenings and weekends, is even more aspirational. We do not believe this could realistically be provided in the current economic climate without either very significant investment, which the NHS could not afford, or to the detriment of other services. While supporting future visions for the delivery of care, we believe it would be wiser to focus on the more pressing clinical need to provide a consultant presence for in-patients seven days a week, rather than raising expectations regarding out-patient services at this time”.
ENDS
Contact: Graeme McAlister on 0131-247-3693 or 07733-263453
Notes to Editors
[1] Hospital consultants face radical changes to shifts, The Herald, 24 June 2013
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/hospital-consultants-face-radical-changes-to-shifts.21144172
[2] Seven Day Consultant Present Care, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties, December 2012 www.aomrc.org.uk
