Brighton hospital A&E is one of only five with overnight consultant

The accident and emergency (A&E) department serving Brighton and Hove is one of only five in the country to employ a consultant overnight.

The revelation came in the Daily Mail today (Tuesday 10 September) after a freedom of information request.

The A&E department – at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton – has recently recruited more consultants as part of a drive to improve capacity.

The recruitment is part of preparations to prevent a repeat of problems experienced in A&E at the Royal Sussex last winter.

In a newsletter to staff, Matthew Kershaw, chief executive of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex, said: “I am sure I don’t need to remind people about the exceptionally challenging few months we had last winter or spell out why it is so important that we do all we can to reduce the risk of a similar scenario this year.”

The Mail said: “Emergency departments are being left in the hands of junior doctors between midnight and eight in the morning.

Matthew Kershaw

“And they are being overseen by only a handful of slightly more experienced medics – many of whom are locums.”

The newspaper’s claims echo those of retired Hove GP (general practitioner) Nigel Higson. Dr Higson told the BBC last week that parents are taking their children to A&E departments believing that they would see the best doctors.

But, he said, typical A&E departments were often staffed by doctors with little experience of treating children.

In contrast, the family doctors working in GP surgeries routinely saw children and usually had a great deal more experience in medicine generally than junior doctors in an A&E, Dr Higson said.

In Brighton, the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital has its own dedicated children’s A&E department.

The Mail quoted Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association charity, saying: “Patients are increasingly resorting to A&E because they cannot get an appointment with their GP.

“When they use A&E they expect to see the most competent staff who are in a position to make the correct diagnosis.

“The care that is provided outside normal working hours must be of the same standard. For too long we have put up with this nine to five mentality within the NHS.”

And the newspaper quoted Roger Goss, from the charity Patient Concern, saying: “You need top quality doctors in A&E more than anywhere else as here – by definition – is where the emergencies come in.”

The Mail’s figures suggested that some A&E departments were understaffed because more than half of the consultant posts were currently vacant.

The newspaper said: “Many doctors do not want to work in A&E because it is regarded as stressful and the hours are longer than those in other departments.”

It quoted a spokesman for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt saying: “We know senior consultants’ presence in A&E makes a big difference to patients.

“That’s why a large portion of this year’s (£500 million) winter funding will go to help pay for extended consultant hours in A&E.”

In Brighton and Hove health bosses are trying to encourage people not to go to A&E unless it is necessary. Alternatives include pharmacies and the Brighton Station Walk-in Centre in Queen’s Road.