Patients' lives 'are being endangered'

They say they have learned that casualty units at hospitals in England and Wales have an average of 2.8 consultants among their staff.

That is less than the bare minimum of three recommended by the British Association of Accident and Emergency Medicine (BAEM) and far short of the eight it says should be available.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Dr Evan Harris called on the government to act, adding: "In some areas, the level of cover endangers patients' lives."

'Safe care'

The fewest senior staff were employed in the Devon and Somerset area and in the Shropshire and Staffordshire hospitals.

Each had an average 1.4 consultants per department, the Liberal Democrats said.

West Yorkshire, with an average 5.3 consultants, was the best staffed area.

Dr Harris told The Express newspaper: "The government is obsessed with political targets and fiddling the figures.

"But what really matters to patients is getting access to quality and safe care."

'Political targets'

Dr Harris, who was given the figures by Health Minister John Hutton in a written parliamentary answer, said casualty departments must have access to enough senior doctors.

He said those that were employed often found themselves under intolerable pressure.

"The senior doctors who are available are often forced to distort their priorities to meet political targets," he said.

"Junior doctors are forced to work without supervision, and consultants are over-stretched."

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "If A&E departments do have fewer than three consultants, consideration must be given to other ways of providing senior leadership during leave, such as the employment of a locum consultant or the substantive appointment of an associate specialist.

"'Workforce Planning in A&E Medicine, 2001 - 2010', was a discussion document published in 2001 which suggested a radical option of increased shop floor presence for A&E consultants and said that if that option was implemented it would require eight consultants per department. To our knowledge this is still a discussion document."