NHS ‘in crisis’ as bed shortage sees A&Es miss target Patients with nowhere to go mean hospitals often fail to hit four-hour waiting time duty

THE NHS is reaching crisis point after figures showed five hospital trusts in Birmingham and the Black Country missed A&E and waiting time targets, claim experts.

Newly released statistics showed five out of seven trusts missed the accident and emergency target which states 95 per cent of patients should wait less than four hours from arrival to discharge, admission or transfer.

University Hospitals Birmingham Trust (UHB), which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, came out worst, with 85.5 per cent being seen within that time.

Walsall Healthcare Trust, responsible for the troubled Manor Hospital, hit 89.6 per cent.

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust recorded 88.4 per cent of patients seen in four hours, and has, along with Walsall, missed the target since the measure went monthly in June 2015.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the Dudley Group were above target.

The British Medical Council said a shortage in social care beds was partly to blame for the problem.

Chairman of the BMA Dr Mark Porter added: “These figures are the latest in a spate of reports that show our health service is reaching a crisis point from a combination of increasing demand and inadequate resources.

“Huge efforts locally by doctors and other team members are important but are hampered because the government does not match the rising demand with sufficient investment. We can’t address problems in A&E without looking at the system as a whole. Problems at the hospital front door are linked to delays at the back door.

“This is because a shortage of social care beds creates ‘exit block’ in hospitals, meaning patients who no longer need to be in hospital can’t be discharged because there is simply nowhere for them to go. This, together with a shortage of beds and a shortage of doctors, leads to delays in admissions and patients being forced to wait on trolleys or admitted to an inappropriate ward.”

Meanwhile, UHB performed worst in the region for the number of patients with an urgent cancer referral beginning treatment within 62 days – recording 80.1 per cent. It has missed the target since September 2013.

Only three trusts hit the target with Walsall being the best performer at 92.9 per cent.

Across England, 90.5 per cent of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged from A&E within four hours of arrival, below the target for the 11th month in a row.

A UHB spokesman said: “We continue to see increased attendances through A&E. Daily average attendances were 290 in July 2015 compared with an average of 320 per day in July 2016.

“To compound this pressure, the average number of admissions each day through A&E has grown by 15 over the same period, increasing the demand for inpatient beds and therefore, the time it takes to deal with patient flow.”

Our health service is reaching a crisis point from a combination of increasing demand and inadequate resources Dr Mark Porter