Hundreds wait over 12 hours for an A&E bed
TWO hundred people waited more than 12 hours for a bed at A&Es run by Pennine Acute NHS Trust last month as the second wave of Covid and the start of winter pressures hit simultaneously.
The trust - which runs the Rochdale Infirmary and three other hospitals - recorded more 12-hour waits than anywhere else in the country and accounted for a sixth of those experienced nationally.
It is understood the pressures have been particularly severe at the Royal Oldham, which serves a borough that has had consistently high Covid infection rates for months, a situation now feeding through into hospitals.
Overall, the number of people waiting 12 hours or more for a bed - once being assessed at A&E as needing one - has more than quadrupled in Greater Manchester compared to this time last year.
Pennine Acute saw the biggest numbers, but is not the only hospital trust in the conurbation towards the bottom of the national league table.
The figures - which show 12-hour waits have doubled nationally compared to the same month last year, although they have more than quadrupled in Greater Manchester - were described as ‘massively worrying’ by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
Dr Katherine Henderson, President of the college, said she was ‘appalled and alarmed’.
“Despite our repeated calls for action, crowding and corridor care is back and it has to stop,” she said. “It is a dangerous and unsafe situation that puts enormous pressure on staff and departments and now increases the risk of hospital acquired infection to patients.
“We simply cannot leave patients for hours in crowded corridors without social distancing, making infection prevention control measures impossible; potentially exposing them to infections.”
Currently senior health figures and politicians believe the hospital system here is likely to hit a peak of Covid cases at around the end of November or the start of December, but it remains too soon to tell how long that peak could last.
One said that either way, the coming weeks would be ‘grim’ for the NHS in Greater Manchester, although politicians including Andy Burnham and Manchester council’s leader Sir Richard Leese have repeatedly insisted that they are confident the system can cope.
A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, on behalf of all the conurbation’s trusts, said: “NHS staff across the North West are working tirelessly to deal with the rising pressures on the NHS as a result of the ongoing response to the pandemic and working hard to ensure all of our patients are treated safely and efficiently and reducing any delays.
“We would like to express our regret to anyone experiencing long waits for treatment.
“The colder months are always a challenging time for the NHS and this year, those seasonal pressures are also being exacerbated by demands created by Covid-19, the increased admissions to hospital, and the numbers of seriously ill patients being treated in our intensive care units.
“During November we are making some changes in our emergency departments which will mean patients are assessed on arrival at the hospital and directed to the most appropriate department or service for their needs. This may include referral back to a communitybased service or to their own GPs.
“Our hospitals are currently under increasing pressure due to the Covid19 pandemic so the public are advised to only go to the emergency department when they really need.
“However do please seek help if you need it. Anyone who is unsure of the right place to get treatment should contact NHS 111, either on the phone or online.”