In this section
@article{Cowling:2014:10.3399/bjgp14X680533,
author = {Cowling, TE and Harris, MJ and Watt, HC and Gibbons, DC and Majeed, A},
doi = {10.3399/bjgp14X680533},
journal = {Br J Gen Pract},
pages = {e434--e439},
title = {Access to general practice and visits to accident and emergency departments in England: cross-sectional analysis of a national patient survey.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.3399/bjgp14X680533},
volume = {64},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - BACKGROUND: The annual number of unplanned attendances at accident and emergency (A&E) departments in England increased by 11% (2.2 million attendances) between 2008-2009 and 2012-2013. A national review of urgent and emergency care has emphasised the role of access to primary care services in preventing A&E attendances. AIM: To estimate the number of A&E attendances in England in 2012-2013 that were preceded by the attending patient being unable to obtain an appointment or a convenient appointment at their general practice. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional analysis of a national survey of adults registered with a GP in England. METHOD: The number of general practice consultations in England in 2012-2013 was estimated by extrapolating the linear trend of published data for 2000-2001 to 2008-2009. This parameter was multiplied by the ratio of attempts to obtain a general practice appointment that resulted in an A&E attendance to attempts that resulted in a general practice consultation estimated using the GP Patient Survey 2012-2013. A sensitivity analysis varied the number of consultations by ±12% and the ratio by ±25%. RESULTS: An estimated 5.77 million (99.9% confidence interval = 5.49 to 6.05 million) A&E attendances were preceded by the attending patient being unable to obtain a general practice appointment or a convenient appointment, comprising 26.5% of unplanned A&E attendances in England in 2012-2013. The sensitivity analysis produced values between 17.5% and 37.2% of unplanned A&E attendances. CONCLUSION: A large number of A&E attendances are likely to be preceded by unsuccessful attempts to obtain convenient general practice appointments in England each year.
AU - Cowling,TE
AU - Harris,MJ
AU - Watt,HC
AU - Gibbons,DC
AU - Majeed,A
DO - 10.3399/bjgp14X680533
EP - 439
PY - 2014///
SP - 434
TI - Access to general practice and visits to accident and emergency departments in England: cross-sectional analysis of a national patient survey.
T2 - Br J Gen Pract
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3399/bjgp14X680533
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24982496
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/21928
VL - 64
ER -