By . Sophie Borland . PUBLISHED: . 17:38 EST, 9 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:38 EST, 9 September 2013 . Only five consultants work in A&E overnight across the entire country, it can be revealed today. Emergency departments are being left in the hands of junior doctors between midnight and eight in the morning. And they are being overseen by only a handful of slightly more  experienced medics – many of whom are locums. Midnight terror: Once the clock strikes 12am, there are only five senior consultants in all of England, leaving junior doctors in charge . Figures obtained by the Mail show that just five NHS trusts in England employ a consultant to work in A&E overnight – even though thousands of seriously ill and injured patients turn up during these hours. Although most of the other hospitals have an ‘on-call’ consultant who can be contacted after they have gone home, junior staff are often reluctant to trouble them. Even during the day, 90 per cent of trusts have only one consultant working in A&E at weekends. The number of patients turning up in A&E has soared by 50 per cent in a decade and many hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in demand. Today Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will announce a range of plans – including £500million of extra funding – to help casualty departments avoid a crisis this winter when it is feared the numbers of patients will increase further. Hope for help from Hunt: Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt is set to announce £500million of extra funding to A&E departments to get them through the winter . These are likely to include making a named GP responsible for every older person so fewer end up in A&E in the first place. He also wants to free family doctors from paperwork so they have more time to see patients – particularly out-of hours when many go to casualty instead. But it is unclear how the measures will be able to force consultants to work overnight. Opinion polls show the public expects the most experienced hospital doctors to work their share of anti-social hours. Not all patients who arrive in A&E need to see a consultant and they can be managed by junior doctors or nurses. However, consultants play a vital role in A&E where crucial life-or-death decisions about the most seriously ill patients need to be made very quickly. The Mail used the Freedom of Information Act to ask all NHS hospitals how many consultants worked in A&E overnight and at the weekend. Around two thirds of some 160 hospital trusts in England have A&E departments. Just five of the 92 trusts which replied . employed one consultant overnight – Brighton and Sussex, Imperial . College in London, University Hospitals of North Staffordshire, North . Bristol and the Pennine Acute Hospitals in Greater Manchester. At the . remaining 87 NHS trusts, the last consultant goes home at either 8pm, . 10pm or midnight. The figures also showed that more than half of trusts . only employ one ‘middle grade’ doctor overnight, who will generally have . two and six years’ experience. Increasing numbers: 21.7million people were admitted to A&E last year, a 50 per cent rise in ten years . These will be tied-up with the most critical patients, leaving junior doctors to deal with everyone else. And 90 per cent of trusts said there was just one consultant working at the A&E department during the day on Saturdays and Sundays. Statistics show that patients are 10 per cent more likely to die if they are brought to hospital at weekends compared to during the week. Katherine Murphy of the Patients Association, a charity, said: ‘Patients are increasingly resorting to A&E because they cannot get an appointment with their GP. When they use A&E they expect to see the most competent staff who are in a position to make the correct diagnosis. ‘The care that is provided outside normal working hours must be of the same standard – for too long we have put up with this nine to five mentality within the NHS.’ Roger Goss of charity Patient Concern said: ‘You need top quality doctors in A&E more than anywhere else as here – by definition – is where the emergencies come in.’ Jamie Reed MP, Labour’s health spokesman said: ‘These figures reveal the full-blown staffing crisis at all levels of England’s A&Es. There can be no case for ministers not investigating these findings.’ The Mail’s figures also reveal that some units are so understaffed that more than half of the consultant posts are currently vacant. Many doctors do not want to work in A&E because it is regarded as stressful and the hours are longer than those in other departments. A spokesman for Jeremy Hunt said: ‘We know senior consultants’ presence in A&E makes a big difference to patients. That’s why a large portion of this year’s winter funding (the £500million) will go to help pay for extended consultant hours in A&E.’
Just five NHS trusts employ senior consultants for A&E overnight .
Units are instead left in the hands of junior doctors between 12am-8am .
Nine in then trusts only have one senior A&E consultant at weekends .
By . Sophie Borland . PUBLISHED: . 17:38 EST, 9 September 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 17:38 EST, 9 September 2013 . Only five consultants work in A&E overnight across the entire country, it can be revealed today. Emergency departments are being left in the hands of junior doctors between midnight and eight in the morning. And they are being overseen by only a handful of slightly more  experienced medics – many of whom are locums. Midnight terror: Once the clock strikes 12am, there are only five senior consultants in all of England, leaving junior doctors in charge . Figures obtained by the Mail show that just five NHS trusts in England employ a consultant to work in A&E overnight – even though thousands of seriously ill and injured patients turn up during these hours. Although most of the other hospitals have an ‘on-call’ consultant who can be contacted after they have gone home, junior staff are often reluctant to trouble them. Even during the day, 90 per cent of trusts have only one consultant working in A&E at weekends. The number of patients turning up in A&E has soared by 50 per cent in a decade and many hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in demand. Today Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will announce a range of plans – including £500million of extra funding – to help casualty departments avoid a crisis this winter when it is feared the numbers of patients will increase further. Hope for help from Hunt: Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt is set to announce £500million of extra funding to A&E departments to get them through the winter . These are likely to include making a named GP responsible for every older person so fewer end up in A&E in the first place. He also wants to free family doctors from paperwork so they have more time to see patients – particularly out-of hours when many go to casualty instead. But it is unclear how the measures will be able to force consultants to work overnight. Opinion polls show the public expects the most experienced hospital doctors to work their share of anti-social hours. Not all patients who arrive in A&E need to see a consultant and they can be managed by junior doctors or nurses. However, consultants play a vital role in A&E where crucial life-or-death decisions about the most seriously ill patients need to be made very quickly. The Mail used the Freedom of Information Act to ask all NHS hospitals how many consultants worked in A&E overnight and at the weekend. Around two thirds of some 160 hospital trusts in England have A&E departments. Just five of the 92 trusts which replied . employed one consultant overnight – Brighton and Sussex, Imperial . College in London, University Hospitals of North Staffordshire, North . Bristol and the Pennine Acute Hospitals in Greater Manchester. At the . remaining 87 NHS trusts, the last consultant goes home at either 8pm, . 10pm or midnight. The figures also showed that more than half of trusts . only employ one ‘middle grade’ doctor overnight, who will generally have . two and six years’ experience. Increasing numbers: 21.7million people were admitted to A&E last year, a 50 per cent rise in ten years . These will be tied-up with the most critical patients, leaving junior doctors to deal with everyone else. And 90 per cent of trusts said there was just one consultant working at the A&E department during the day on Saturdays and Sundays. Statistics show that patients are 10 per cent more likely to die if they are brought to hospital at weekends compared to during the week. Katherine Murphy of the Patients Association, a charity, said: ‘Patients are increasingly resorting to A&E because they cannot get an appointment with their GP. When they use A&E they expect to see the most competent staff who are in a position to make the correct diagnosis. ‘The care that is provided outside normal working hours must be of the same standard – for too long we have put up with this nine to five mentality within the NHS.’ Roger Goss of charity Patient Concern said: ‘You need top quality doctors in A&E more than anywhere else as here – by definition – is where the emergencies come in.’ Jamie Reed MP, Labour’s health spokesman said: ‘These figures reveal the full-blown staffing crisis at all levels of England’s A&Es. There can be no case for ministers not investigating these findings.’ The Mail’s figures also reveal that some units are so understaffed that more than half of the consultant posts are currently vacant. Many doctors do not want to work in A&E because it is regarded as stressful and the hours are longer than those in other departments. A spokesman for Jeremy Hunt said: ‘We know senior consultants’ presence in A&E makes a big difference to patients. That’s why a large portion of this year’s winter funding (the £500million) will go to help pay for extended consultant hours in A&E.’
being left in the hands of junior doctors between 12am, there are only five senior consultants in five NHS trusts in England employ a consultant to working in A&E at weekends. The number of