How Many Times Do You Go To A & E In A Year?
This story on the BBC’s web site has done a bit of research and here’s the first part.
Some patients are going to A&E units in the UK more than 50 times a year, a BBC investigation shows.
Data from 183 sites obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed nearly 12,000 people made more than 10 visits to the same unit in 2012-13.
A small number of those – just over 150 – attended more than 50 times.
I wonder why they needed a Freedom of Information request to get all this information. This sort of information should be shown on the NHS web site, suitably anonimised.
I didn’t go in 2011. but I went once in 2012 and 2013. Last year’s visit was when I damaged my hand and it just wouldn’t stop bleeding.
Surely, if the NHS had a decent joined-up computer system, they could deal with their serial patients better. I am joined up to UCLH, where I went for my hand, as I had been an in-patient and that got me through the hospital a lot quicker.
The Anonymous Widower 
One of our daughters went through a spell of being there a lot – every week or two for about six months, so much so they thought she may have dyspraxia. But after some investigation they decided she was just “one of those daredevil kids”. But adults going 50+ times a year needs dealing with.
Comment by Liz P | January 7, 2014 |
The more I think of this problem, the key is a unified NHS database. This would mean that if someone was seeing the GP every week and A & E as well, then it would be flagged up and the patient could be properly investigated by either the GP or the hospital. It would also flag up those, who were visiting several hospitals. Having a unified database, would also allow a proper audit to be made and it would then be possible to see if solutions were working or just making the problems worse.
Comment by AnonW | January 7, 2014 |
A unified database would help identify problems such as abuse where people go to various different hospitals so that no one hospital will realise how often they visit. Assuming they use their correct name of course
Comment by Liz P | January 7, 2014 |
I used to work with a guy who was investigating fraud in the Department of Education. He told me, that people only create a set of aliases, where money is involved. Even if my contact is wrong, having different aliases for different hospitals, is probably beyond the average patient’s skill to remember. A lot of the best databases ask you test questions that are difficult to remember right each time. If I asked you what was the make and colour of your first car every Monday for a week, the only way to get it right is to tell the truth.
Comment by AnonW | January 7, 2014 |
People who are abusing their child will often have different aliases at different hospitals, as will addicts who are trying to get pethidine (heroin), and people with Munchausen syndrome
Comment by Liz P | January 7, 2014 |
Hopefully, though the hospitals will pick these sort of problems up, by medical skills.
Comment by AnonW | January 7, 2014 |