200 patients forced to wait in ambulances at A&E unit
AMBULANCES were forced to wait more than an hour outside Southport Hospital and bed occupancy hit 100% amid the NHS winter crisis.
The Town Lane hospital did not have a single spare bed on December 28, while its bed occupancy remained above the recommended safe rate of 85% every day between December 18 and 31.
Over the same period, more than 200 patients were forced to wait longer than 30 minutes in ambulances before being admitted – 94 of those for more than an hour.
Residents had earlier been warned to only call 999 or visit A&E in emergencies as the service prepared itself for what has now become an annual winter crisis across the country.
Instead, they were advised to seek more appropriate services, such as pharmacies, walk-in centres and the nonemergency 111 phone service.
Many non-urgent operations will be cancelled this month, although NHS chiefs say patients should come in as planned unless they receive a letter.
Hospitals throughout the region felt the strain, with Aintree 98.4% full on December 30 and Arrowe Park, Wirral, 99.3% full on New Year’s Eve.
Prime Minister Theresa May apologised for the problems faced in hospitals, describing the situation as frustrating and disappointing, as critics argued that funding cuts were largely to blame.
Labour’s prospective Parliamentary candidate for Southport, Liz Savage, described the figues as “shocking” and a real cause for concern.
Commenting on the data from the week starting Christmas Day, she said: “These figures are shocking and a real cause for concern.
“No-one can justify 133 people waiting outside A&E for over half an hour before they are treated and even more worryingly, 60 of them had to wait over an hour which, of course, also means those ambulances are tied up for that time.
“Given the probable changes to our A&E service under the Tory STP plans, this will only mean further restrictions to an already overstretched service.
“My concern is that local demands may not be being met properly because of a lack of funding.
“The winter crisis isn’t a local phenomenon, but it is something we can feel more keenly here due to our large number of older residents.”
Chief operating officer at Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals NHS Trust Therese Patten said: “Local health and social care services are working closely to get patients the care they need where and when they need it. However, we also need our community’s help to keep our hospitals moving at this challenging time.
“Please use A&E only if you need it and think carefully before calling an ambulance.
“If you have a friend, relative or loved already in hospital, you can also help by supporting our staff to get them ready when it’s time to go home.”