Effects of industrial action by the ambulance service on day hospital patients.
The results of loss of treatment were assessed in a group of 248 day hospital patients when industrial action interrupted the ambulance service for five weeks. Almost 10% of the patients failed to return for treatment and 39% of those who returned had deteriorated appreciably. The groups of patients who were most vulnerable were those most in need of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and many extra admissions to the wards resulted from the loss of diagnostic and treatment facilities in the day hospitals.
D000368:Aged; D000552:Ambulances; D001168:Arthritis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003098:Collective Bargaining; D003631:Day Care, Medical; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000534:rehabilitation; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D002542:Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities