Shortage in emergency doctors leading to A&E crisis, medics warn

A national shortage of emergency doctors might force an A&E in the East Midlands to temporarily close its doors at night.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT), which runs the A&E at Grantham and District Hospital as well as two others in the region, said that it had been "seriously affected" by a "national shortage of appropriately trained doctors to work in A&Es".

Dr Suneil Kapadia, medical director at ULHT, said the organisation had "tried to recruit in the UK and internationally".

He added: "We haven't made a final decision yet, and we hope to avoid this, but the reality is we will need to temporarily reduce the opening hours of A&E at Grantham.

"The quality and safety of patient care is the Trust's number one priority...

"We have offered premium rates to attract agency doctors whilst investing £4 million in urgent care services. Despite this, we have reached crisis point."

In response to the announcement the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned that a widening gap between the supply and demand for emergency medics is leading to a crisis in A&E departments across the country.

Dr Clifford Mann, president of the RECM, said: "The great efforts made by doctors and nurses to help patients in under-resourced locations sometimes is not sustainable.

"The wider picture is there is a real crisis in emergency medicine as our workforce numbers are not growing fast enough to keep pace with rising numbers of patients attending A&E Departments."