Shropshire Star

Shropshire hospitals failing to meet A&E targets

The crisis in accident and emergency continues in Shropshire, with hospitals failing to meet the Government's waiting time target.

Published

For the second week in a row, only four out of five patients at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust-run Royal Shrewsbury and Telford's Princess Royal hospitals were dealt with within four hours during the week ending Sunday, January 18.

The 80.2 per cent figure is lower than the 80.5 per cent from the week before and that is despite fewer people coming through the doors. The percentage is also still some way below the Government's 95 per cent target for patients to be seen, treated and admitted or discharged within four hours at A&E units. It is also below the England average which is 88.5 per cent.

The numbers appear to have stagnated after promise was shown last week, when Shropshire hospitals had seen the number of people dealt with in the target time of four hours or less increase significantly from 76.1 per cent in the week ending January 4.

The 80.2 per cent figure equates to 366 people having to wait longer than the four hours target to be seen or admitted into hospital. The national average is 203.

Just 29 of 139 major A&E trusts nationally are currently meeting the 95 per cent gold standard, according to the latest statistics.

In Shropshire, the pressure on the two A&E departments was eased slightly during the week up to last Sunday, with 1,849 people coming through the doors compared to the 1,902 who visited the week before and the 2,115 in the seven days before that.

The number of emergency admissions during the week was 415, down by 21 on the week before.

But despite improvements, the county's hospitals have struggled so far this year to match the figures achieved at the end of last year, when 87 per cent of those through the doors were seen within the target time for the week ending December 28, 2014.

It has been suggested the numbers coming through the doors shows people have heeded warnings to only visit hospitals in emergencies after weeks of bad headlines.

Dame Barbara Hakin, of NHS England, said that while demands had "eased" the NHS was still facing "huge pressures on its frontline services".

Meanwhile, the number of planned operations cancelled at the hospitals in Shrewsbury and Telford last week, however, increased 19, up from 13 the week before. The number is above the national average of 12.7. And the number of beds unavailable during the week ending January 18 to diarrhoea and vomiting or norovirus-like symptoms was 18, up from zero the week before but well below the England average of 33.3.

The number of queuing ambulances at Shropshire hospitals - which are ambulances which have waited at least half an hour to transfer a patient into the care of hospital staff - for the week were 36, down 55 from the week before and below the England average of 39.2.

There was also a rise in delayed discharges both in Shropshire and in England - this is where a hospital is unable to release a patient despite their treatment being completed because a lack of support available in the community. In Shropshire the number was up by 10 last week to 287 and the average in England was 148.3.

The problem has been highlighted as a key reason for hospitals struggling in the New Year as the delays mean the flow of patients through the hospital system slows.

The latest number come after a report released earlier this week by health watchdog Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Telford's Princess Royal had to do better in four out of five key areas. It has also been given a "requires improvement" rating overall.

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