Private companies’ out of hours care service coincides with surge in numbers of children attending emergency departments

There has been a surge in the number of children attending emergency departments during the past decade, suffering from common medical problems.

But during the same period, the NHS has changed the way out of hours care is provided.

The family doctor does not have to provide care and advice during out of hours times, private companies provide this service instead.

Researchers examining the medical records of children under the age of 15 who had attended the emergency department at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham between February 2007 and February 2008 found the number of children suffering from common conditions had risen by 42 per cent.

The most common medical problems accounting for 85 per cent of the visits included: breathing difficulty, fever, diarrhoea with or without vomiting, rash and cough.

The study has been published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.