Campaigners for the retention of local A&E services last night seized on a new study which appears to back up claims that greater centralisation could risk lives.
Campaigners for the retention of local A&E services last night seized on a new study which appears to back up claims that greater centralisation could risk lives.
According to research published in the British Medical Journal, emergency patients' lives are put at risk if they have to travel longer distances by ambulance to hospital.
The study suggests the findings have implications for areas where hospital A&E departments have been closed.
The authors claim "local closures will inevitably spell longer ambulance journeys for critically-ill patients" and warn patients could die as a result.
Campaigners, who argued closure could cost lives as people in Lanarkshire would have to travel further to reach an A&E at Wishaw General or Hairmyres in East Kilbride, welcomed the report as evidence both the local health board and the previous Labour executive were wrong to want to close the unit.
Elaine Smith, Labour MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, campaigned to save the Monklands A&E. Last night she said: "This evidence helps to underpin the compelling argument to maintain Monklands as a level three general hospital, with A&E, high dependency and intensive care.
"It is particularly important in an area of social deprivation and with high levels of ill health."
Days after the SNP took control of the executive, Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon overturned the decision of her predecessor Andy Kerr to close Monklands hospital's accident and emergency department in Airdrie.
Mr Kerr has since said the decision will have "serious ramifications" for the NHS. NHS Lanarkshire decided to close the unit after it said it was no longer possible to staff three A&E departments in the area.
The new study, by a team of academics lead by Professor Steve Goodacre at Sheffield University, looked at the journeys of more than 10,000 patients with life-threatening conditions to hospital in urban, rural and mixed urban and rural areas in England.
They undertook the research after deciding there were few studies to support claims about the risks of transporting patients over increased distances, fearing policy could be decided on anecdotal evidence or supposition.
The report concludes: "Our data suggests any changes that increase journey distances to hospital for emergency patients may lead to an increase in mortality for a small number of patients with life threatening medical emergencies, unless care is improved."
The study found the chances of dying was 13% if the distance was between six and 12 miles, but rising to 20% if it was further. The risk of death increased by 1% for every extra kilometre travelled. Patients with respiratory problems were particularly at risk, according to the findings.
During the health board consultation period and campaign against closure, Janette Horn, spokeswoman for Lanarkshire Health United, said: "People are going to die in the back of an ambulance because it will take too long to get to the nearest hospital with an A&E unit."
The academics state their findings concur with several other studies in other parts of the world which show a link between mortality and rural trauma.
