Sponsored by
Golden hour is critical
A MEMBER of the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust has claimed that critical time is being wasted for local heart attack and stroke patients by them being taken to Scunthorpe and elsewhere for treatment, rather than to Goole and District Hospital.
The man, who does not wish to be named, states the all-important first hour of stabilisation or treatment of a patient, which determines the chances of full recovery, is drastically reduced by them being taken to hospitals at least 20 miles away.
It also puts undue strain on attending paramedics and is very costly in staff time and fuel terms, he says and so cannot be based on any sound cost effectiveness argument.
"The first hour after a person has a stroke or heart attack is known as the Golden Hour - the critical time that determines the eventual outcome for the patient," said the man.
"Let's look at that Golden Hour. The 999 call is received and the ambulance response time is usually five minutes or less.
"The paramedic assessment takes a maximum of ten minutes and the decision to take the patient to hospital is made. Then, instead of back to Goole and District, the patient is taken to Scunthorpe, Hull or Doncaster; journey time 30-40 minutes; hand-over time five minutes. That Golden Hour is suddenly down to ten minutes or less.
"Why should the paramedics be put under such strain by having that Golden Hour reduced?
"It is the initial stabilisation of the patient that is critical and that could be done at Goole and District Hospital. After that, transfer to another hospital would probably be necessary."
In addition to the time factor in relation to the patient, the man says it also means that the ambulance crew are unavailable for further emergency calls in the Goole area for around 90 minutes.
"Plus it will cost a lot more in fuel to do the round trip to Scunthorpe, Hull or Doncaster.
"There are some very clever pen pushers determining this policy and they should be putting patients first," he said.
Clinical Director of Goole and District Hospital, Dr Raafat Sharawi said: "All decisions about the treatment of patients taken by the ambulance service are taken on a case by case basis by the crew and are taken in the best interest of the patients.
"Taking heart attack or stroke patients to Goole to be stabilised would waste precious time and delay treatment. Work is being led nationally that says these types of patients need timely access to specialist care and diagnostics such as CT scans, thrombolysis and admission to a Coronary Care Unit or Stroke Unit, all of which is provided at Scunthorpe General Hospital.
"If the Trust Member concerned feels the current arrangements could be improved he should contact Dr Sharawi or the Director of Service Development and Business Development Angie Smithson."
* A CAMPAIGN set up amid fears of possible bed cuts and a ward closure at Goole and District Hospital received a boost this week after gaining "massive" support from the public.
Three beds have recently been closed for use on Ward 3 at the hospital, sparking fears there are hidden plans by the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust to eventually close the ward.
Former nurse, Mrs Josie Head, who leads the local campaign group SOB (Save Our Beds) told the Courier: "The people of Goole and surrounding rural areas are pledging their support to this campaign.
"We have had massive support. In less than a week we have received over a thousand signatures on our petition and many local people have expressed their anger over the piecemeal removal of beds from our local hospital"
SOB organised a public meeting, which was set to be held last night (Wednesday) at which Mrs Head said she would be revealing "scandalous information" she said she had uncovered in the past few days. The Trust was invited to send a representative to the meeting but they declined saying it was too premature. The trust has stated that it is carrying out a review of all its urgent, non-emergency, patient care services across the Trust. Public consultation could take place.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Goole
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
