Tuesday, 2 March 2010

A&E waits soar

WAITING times in A&E have deteriorated – and bosses say it is ‘difficult to see’ how actions to tackle it are having an affect.

Latest figures show waits at Solihull, Heartlands and Good Hope hospitals were well below a key target, to get 98 per cent of people seen within four hours.

These fell from 96.5 per cent to 92.6 per cent in January.

The national regulator has stepped in to demand improvements from Heart of England NHS Trust, which runs the hospitals.

An NHS report says: “Recent adverse weather conditions have generated additional pressure on A&E services but it is difficult to see how the planned improvement measures put in place are having a beneficial impact.”

And the problem of patients waiting in ambulances outside hospital – often blamed on there not being enough beds and staff – has got worse, the report says.

Waits at Solihull Hospital are four times the West Midlands average, The Silhillian reported last month – and this has now risen to five times the regional average.

About 50 per cent of patients waited more than 30 minutes in December – double July’s figure.

Meanwhile the report says there is ‘significant concern’ that ambulances can get to patients quick enough in the first place.

It says: “No assurance can be provided that performance at the end of 2009/10 will be much better than the current levels.”

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