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Print media representations of UK Accident and Emergency treatment targets: Winter 2014-2015

Grant, Aimee; Hoyle, Louise

Authors

Aimee Grant

Louise Hoyle



Abstract

Aims and Objectives: to undertake an analysis of UK national daily newspaper coverage of accident and emergency treatment targets, in order to understand if the media could be seen to be creating a scandal.
Background: Emergency Department treatment targets have become common in developed countries. In the United Kingdom (UK), hospitals are required to treat and discharge patients within four hours, and statistics are published daily. Breaches of targets are regularly reported by the UK print media.
Design: exploratory research of tabloid newspaper articles that reported on four-hour treatment targets in the UK during a seven-month period over the winter of 2014-15 (n=1,317). An interpretivist thematic approach was utilised during analysis.
Results: The main ‘problem’ identified by newspapers was the failure to meet the target, rather than negative effects on patient care (where they existed). Proposed solutions were diverse. Many articles did not describe who was to blame for the failure.
Conclusion: We conclude that the media created a feeling of scandal, and hypothesise that this is related to political reasons and the availability of data on a daily basis.

Citation

Grant, A., & Hoyle, L. (2017). Print media representations of UK Accident and Emergency treatment targets: Winter 2014-2015. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(23-24), 4425-4435. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13772

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 16, 2017
Online Publication Date Feb 23, 2017
Publication Date 2017-12
Deposit Date Feb 24, 2017
Publicly Available Date Feb 24, 2018
Journal Journal of Clinical Nursing
Print ISSN 0962-1067
Electronic ISSN 1365-2702
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 26
Issue 23-24
Pages 4425-4435
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13772
Keywords General Nursing; General Medicine
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/689298
Contract Date Feb 24, 2017

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This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Grant A, Hoyle L. Print media representations of UK Accident and Emergency treatment targets: Winter 2014–2015. J Clin Nurs. 2017;00:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13772, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13772. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.


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Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Grant A, Hoyle L. Print media representations of UK Accident and Emergency treatment targets: Winter 2014–2015. J Clin Nurs. 2017;00:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13772, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13772. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.








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