Hospitals losing money with rising numbers of A&E patients, study finds: Study says it costs hospitals more to treat accident and emergency patients than they are paid to deliver service
Hospitals are dealing with rising numbers of patients coming into accident and emergency departments but losing money in treating them, a survey of top-performing trusts reveals.
The study, launched on Wednesday at the Foundation Trust Network's annual conference in Liverpool, emphasises that "fundamental problems remain on the funding of A&E and emergency services".
Looking at 11 hospitals around the country, the network found that each received an average of between £79 and £123 for every patient seen in A&E, yet the cost of treating these patients is between £69 and £129 per patient. "Only a minority of the trusts in the study broke even on their A&E work," says the report.
The foundation trusts, which represent more than 200 NHS organisations, are calling on the government "to re-examine the policy of paying for some emergency admissions at 30% of the standard rate".
They argue that GPs and community services need to "take shared responsibility for avoiding emergency admissions and means that hospitals are simply earning less for the work they undertake in spite of the improvements in assessment and care that they have put in place".
Chris Hopson, the chief executive of the Foundation Trust Network, said: "The amount that NHS trusts are paid for doing this work is being trimmed by a policy designed to keep people out of hospital beds.
"But there is only so much that hospital-based services can do to change patterns of care. What is needed is a whole-system approach with a real commitment to keeping patients out of A&E in the first place. And in the meantime trusts should not be financially penalised by fines for rising numbers of patients coming into hospital via A&E." The Guardian
Hospitals are dealing with rising numbers of patients coming into accident and emergency departments but losing money in treating them, a survey of top-performing trusts reveals.
The study, launched on Wednesday at the Foundation Trust Network's annual conference in Liverpool, emphasises that "fundamental problems remain on the funding of A&E and emergency services".
Looking at 11 hospitals around the country, the network found that each received an average of between £79 and £123 for every patient seen in A&E, yet the cost of treating these patients is between £69 and £129 per patient. "Only a minority of the trusts in the study broke even on their A&E work," says the report.
The foundation trusts, which represent more than 200 NHS organisations, are calling on the government "to re-examine the policy of paying for some emergency admissions at 30% of the standard rate".
They argue that GPs and community services need to "take shared responsibility for avoiding emergency admissions and means that hospitals are simply earning less for the work they undertake in spite of the improvements in assessment and care that they have put in place".
Chris Hopson, the chief executive of the Foundation Trust Network, said: "The amount that NHS trusts are paid for doing this work is being trimmed by a policy designed to keep people out of hospital beds.
"But there is only so much that hospital-based services can do to change patterns of care. What is needed is a whole-system approach with a real commitment to keeping patients out of A&E in the first place. And in the meantime trusts should not be financially penalised by fines for rising numbers of patients coming into hospital via A&E." The Guardian
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