Patients referred to hospital by GP ‘must be assessed by a doctor’, urge campaigners

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By Daniel Pye

A doctors’ group has demanded a new set of standards for assessments in emergency departments following the death of two boys with appendicitis who were seen by advanced practitioners after being referred by GPs.

The children were “appropriately treated in primary care” and their GPs recognised the need for an urgent hospital assessment, Doctors’ Association UK told health secretary James Murray.

“These cases raise serious questions about the safety of current assessment systems in emergency departments and the roles of non-doctors,” Dr Sarah Jacques and Dr Steve Taylor, DAUK GP co-leads, wrote in a letter [pdf] to James Murray.

One of the boys, eight-year-old Ethan Hanson, died last year from septic shock, peritonitis and perforated appendicitis. He went to the GP because of abdominal pain, vomiting and a concern there may be a serious underlying cause.

The GP accurately recorded a raised temperature and tachycardia and advised he went straight to hospital, but did not send a written referral. There were several issues related to his care that were raised by the coroner.