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Lords debates emergency services

16 January 2015

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

Members of the Lords debated the pressures facing accident and emergency services, on Thursday 15 January.

Members spoke about the pressures accident and emergency (A&E) services face, noting challenges such as an ageing population, staff and recruitment issues, and management of the flow of patients through the health system - particularly those whose needs do not fit the services offered in A&E departments.

Peers highlighted some of the projects aimed at changing the range of services A&E provide, including placing some GPs in emergency departments as primary care physicians, and locating acute medical and surgical staff in A&E departments to enable them to assess patients there. They also spoke about the effect of the NHS 111 phone line, and how GP out-of-hours services could help relieve the pressure on emergency services.

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