A report on the care of patients who have been taken to hospital in England following a heart attack showed initial progress towards 'national service framework' targets.
Source: How Hospitals Manage Heart Attacks, Royal College of Physicians (020 7935 1174)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Nov
An annual independent report into perioperative deaths (within three days of a surgical procedure) called for co-ordinated team working, improved assessment of patients before operation, more consultant sessions in critical care, and reform of the way autopsies are done. The government welcomed the report.
Source: Function as a Team?: 2002 Report, National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (020 7831 6430) | Press release 11.11.02, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | DH press release
Date: 2002-Nov
A report said the government is painting an overly optimistic picture of how hospital accident and emergency departments are meeting targets on waiting. The single most important step for improving waiting times in A&E would be to increase the availability of hospital beds.
Source: Waits and Measures: Improving emergency care for today's patients, British Medical Association (020 7387 4499)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/2, Digest 122, paragraph 2.3
Date: 2002-Oct
An official report recommended forty measures designed to cut 'red tape' for frontline hospital staff.
Source: Making a Difference: Reducing Burdens in Hospitals, Regulatory Impact Unit/Cabinet Office (020 7276 2194)
Links: Report (pdf) | Press release
Date: 2002-Jul
A report identified a series of problems in the organisation of care for the acutely ill, including problems finding suitable beds, patients placed in unsuitable wards, patients transferred long distances between hospitals, and poor care in general.
Source: The Interface between Acute General Medicine and Critical Care, Royal College of Physicians (020 7935 1174)
Links: Summary
Date: 2002-Jul
A report identified 59 hospitals which lack one or more services needed to treat acutely ill patients.
Source: Isolated Acute Medical Services: Current Organisation and Proposals for the Future, Royal College of Physicians (020 7935 1174)
Links: Report
See also: Journal of Social Policy Volume 31/2, Digest 122 (paragraph 2.1)
Date: 2002-Jun
