GP referrals drop across Black Country and Staffordshire

Hospitals across the Black Country and Staffordshire recorded a drop in GP referrals during March.

Health leaders have warned that the NHS faces a “wave of increasing demand” as the initial coronavirus peak abates, with a drop in non-Covid related activity during the crisis storing up problems for the future.

Hospitals in The Royal Wolverhampton Trust recorded a third fewer GP referrals during March, dropping from 9,238 in March last year to 6,130 during the same month this year.

It reflected the picture across England, where referrals fell by 32 per cent, from 1.18 million to 802,000.

Meanwhile referrals in Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust area dropped by 28 per cent, from 12,259 to 8,876, across Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust's area it dropped from 4,781 to 3,662, and the numbers in University Hospitals Of North Midlands Trust dropped from 8,561 to 6,107.

There was an eight per cent drop in GP referrals across The Dudley Group Trust, from 7,211 to 6,650.

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The Royal College of GPs says the drop is due to both a fall in patients making appointments and hospitals not accepting referrals for some non-urgent conditions to free up beds and resources.

But the British Medical Association (BMA) says the deferral of treatment risks conditions worsening and requiring more acute care in future, which is likely to "result in a wave of increasing demand once the current Covid situation eases".

More than half of GPs thought the prioritisation of Covid-19 patients was negatively impacting the care of others, according to a BMA survey.

Dr Richard Vautrey, BMA GP committee chairman, said: "In our recent survey, the impact on long-term patient clinical demand was the one issue that GPs said they were most concerned about related to the current pandemic.

“The BMA is urging the Government and NHS England to set out a credible and realistic plan of how it intends to continue to meet the current demand of Covid-19, while resuming services for patients who so desperately need care for unrelated, but often painful and distressing, conditions.”

Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the RCGP, said it was important patients seek help, as earlier diagnosis can improve outcomes for some serious conditions such as cancer.

He said: “GPs are still making urgent referrals, when appropriate, throughout the pandemic, so patients should not be deterred from seeking medical attention over fears of contracting coronavirus or burdening NHS services."

The NHS England figures also show that 7,890 referred patients were seen by specialists at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust during March – 16 per cent fewer than in March 2019.

Guidance

And 6,800 patients were seen University Hospitals Of North Midlands NHS Trust, a drop of 20 per cent, 3,089 patients were seen in Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust during March – 21 per cent fewer, 4,555 were seen at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust – 27 per cent fewer, and 9,912 patients were seen at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust – 14 per cent fewer.

But as lockdown measures are eased, the RCGP says the number of patients making doctor’s appointments is beginning to rise again – which will also mean a rise in referrals.

An NHS spokeswoman said hospitals had received guidance to allow them to increase the number of tests and treatments they carry out in a safe way while still retaining extra capacity to treat future coronavirus patients.

She added: “Our message to anyone worried about symptoms is: help us help you, and seek help through your GP as you always would.”

A UHNM spokesman said: “At the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak we reviewed all routine referrals with our CCG and primary care colleagues and only urgent referrals, including cancer referrals have been sent into the trust.

“As we plan to restore services we will ensure our hospitals are safe and patients have the confidence to attend their appointments.

"We will also continue many of the transformational initiatives we have introduced during this time such as online and digital appointments and consultations to help avoid a visit to hospital if it is not needed.”

Paul Maubach, senior responsible officer for the Black Country and West Birmingham Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) and chief executive officer for NHS Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) said: “Dealing with coronavirus is the biggest challenge the health and care service has ever faced. Making sure the NHS is able to deal with coronavirus and at the same time making sure it is still available for everybody needing urgent and emergency care has meant that some services have temporarily reduced or suspended.

“In addition we are aware some people may not be accessing the NHS for care because they either don’t want to be a burden or because they are fearful about catching the virus.

“We want to reassure patients across the Black Country and West Birmingham that your GP practice is here for you and that we are working hard to ensure that you can continue to safely access primary care services and are able to seek advice for any health related issues you may be worried about. GPs are still able to refer patients to hospital for health problems that need further assessment, investigation or treatment, so please do not delay contacting your GP practice.

“Across the local health and care system, NHS partners are working together to get this important message out to patients and the public and to restore services where safe to do so.

“It is vitally important that if people have serious conditions or concerns they seek help. Therefore, whether you or a loved one have the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, are a parent worried about their child or have concerns about conditions such as cancer you should seek help in the way you always would.”