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Hospital recruits GPs for A&E shifts over winter

Hull Royal Infirmary is recruiting GPs to work in A&E shifts over winter to deal with patients who have minor injuries and illnesses.

NHS Hull CCG has given funding to Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust to employ GPs in the department to treat patients who do not need to be treated in a hospital setting according to the Hull Daily Mail.

The hospital is also recruiting physiotherapists and Red Cross staff to work in the hospital A&E department and in the discharge lounge ‘to make sure patients were given appropriate care packages before being sent home’ according to the Hull Daily Mail.

Ellen Ryabov, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s chief operating officer, said this comes as it has ‘been well publicised both locally and nationally that Emergency Departments (EDs) across the country have seen a steady rise in the number of attendances’.

‘Hull Royal Infirmary is no different and has seen an 11 per cent rise in attendances in the last twelve months alone,’ she added.

She said: ‘It is anticipated around 20% of patients who self-present at our ED could be seen in a more appropriate place in the community, such as at a minor injuries unit or a GP surgery, and in turn this places additional demand on our services.’

The Hull Royal Infirmary A&E department falls short of its target of seeing 95% of patients within four hours – over the last six weeks it saw 87% of patients in that time frame. However, this is a 13% improvement compared to six weeks from April.