Shropshire Star

Shropshire A&E patients face wait of more than 20 hours

Patients waited more than 20 hours at one of Shropshire's accident and emergency departments as the winter A&E crisis worsens.

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Hospital bosses today admitted the unprecedented delay in treatment happened this week because of high levels of demand.

And they repeated calls for people to stay away from Royal Shrewsbury and Telford's Princess Royal unless they have a genuine emergency.

The crisis happened on Monday at the PRH, with some patients forced to wait so that more serious cases could be prioritised.

Sara Biffen, deputy chief operating officer at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: "It is no secret that hospitals across the country are facing incredibly high levels of demand this winter, and we are no different.

"Since the beginning of the year we have seen nearly 7,000 patients at our A&Es – around 300 patients every day.

"Unfortunately, due to the demand we are facing, some patients did experience very long waits in A&E on Monday, with a small number of patients having waiting times in excess of 20 hours.

"I would again like to thank our staff who are working so hard to ensure our patients are treated safely and with kindness during this very busy time."

Last week, 2,083 patients were seen at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford emergency departments, compared to 1,984 in the previous week. Of those 2,083, a total of 683 were brought in by ambulance.

Ms Biffen added: "It is always our intention to ensure patients are seen as quickly as possible. However our first priority must always be the safe care of patients and we put that above everything else. When we experience such demand, we always ensure that we prioritise the most seriously ill and injured patients.

"We know that for some, a journey to A&E is essential, but we also know there are many people who do not need the specialist care that our A&Es provide. Once again we would ask people to please think carefully about alternative local services. These do not provide less of a service for non-urgent conditions, but can help people avoid a lengthy and stressful visit to hospital."

The A&E crisis continues amid continuing controversy about the stalled Future Fit review and the wish of hospital bosses for a single specialist A&E based at RSH. Mark Cheetham, head of surgery at the trust, confirmed this week that an option of a new-build A&E on a new site had been ruled out.

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