People are not overusing A&E, the Guardian reports this morning. According to the College of Emergency Medicine, only 15% of people attending A&E could have been safely treated by a GP.
However the figure was large enough for the college to renew calls for there to be GPs in A&E departments to which these patients could be redirected.
‘Providing a more appropriate resource for the 2.1 million patients represented by this figure would substantially decongest emergency departments,’ said the college’s president Dr Clifford Mann.
Over on the Telegraph, senior doctors condemn proposals to introduce charging for GP services ahead of the motion set to be voted on by the LMC Conference in York today.
Former RCGP chair Professor Clare Gerada and NHS and National Health Action Party joint leader Dr Clive Peedell are the main signatories of a letter to the newspaper signed by 541 doctors.
Finally, the Independent reports that hospitals in the red are pleading for emergency funding because they cannot pay for electricity bills. A Freedom of Information Act request showed there were 15 requests for loans from the Government over the course of February and March.
