Just 68% of patients seen by A&E within four hours
NEARLY a third of patients are spending more than four hours in Leicestershire A&Es as the pressure on the NHS continues.
At University Hospitals of Leicester, just 68.8% of patients attending the trust’s major A&Es in February were discharged, admitted or transferred within four hours of arriving.
Performance across all of the trust’s A&Es and minor injury centres was 71.5 per cent, with the trust recording its joint worst performance since the measurement went monthly in June 2015. The target is 95 per cent.
Across England, in February, nearly a quarter of patients attending major A&Es waited more than four hours from arrival to discharge, admission or transfer, as performance on the four hour target fell to just 76.9 per cent for major A&Es, and 85% across all A&Es, the worst performance since records began in August 2010.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is calling on patients to write to their Member of Parliament asking for action to address the serious challenges facing Emergency Departments across the country.
Dr Taj Hassan, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “Unfortunately these figures are not surprising and reflect the acute and detrimental effect insufficient resources are having on our health service; patient care will continue to suffer until this changes.
“Performance that once would have been regarded as utterly unacceptable has now become normal and things are seemingly only getting worse for patients. It’s important to remember that while performance issues are more pronounced during the winter, Emergency Departments are now struggling all year round.
“Warnings and pleas for adequate resourcing have repeatedly failed to deliver with both patients and staff suffering as a result.
“We cannot continue in this situation - which is why we are calling on patients to contact their MP in support of our A&Es and the NHS.”
He said the crisis was not the fault of patients, staff not working hard enough or due to the weather or other external factors, but due to a failure to increase healthcare funding.
Mr Derek Prentice, the College’s lead patient representative and Lay Committee Chair, said: “While the recent budget allocated extra funds to the health service, it was not what was made very clear would be required and was just about enough to stave off complete collapse.
“Just about enough should not be good enough. Our patients, staff and the NHS – now in its 70th year – deserve better.
“We need long term solutions, including more beds and more staff, and we would encourage patients to ask their MPs for them.
“Ministers and decision makers must stop burying their heads in the sand and face the reality of the situation; overall performance is in decline due to the under-resourcing of health and social care.
“The data shows the reality, yet facts are being disregarded and the health sector is not being listened to. We hope that they will listen to the public who voted for them.”