A&E target times 'under pressure' in East Lancashire

10:32am Monday 1st October 2012 in News

INCREASING pressures on East Lancashire’s accident and emergency service are threatening targets on patient waiting times, according to hospital bosses.

Speaking at a board meeting for the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT), director of operations Val Bertnenshaw raised concerns about the national target of seeing A&E patients within four hours.

She said: “In August, the four-hour waiting target was only just achieved. There is pressure in the A&E department that we wouldn’t normally expect at this time of year.”

Mrs Bertenshaw told members that:

  • Attendances last month were three per cent up
  • Ambulance conveyances were 19 per cent up
  • Emergency admissions were five per cent up

The four-hour A&E figures for August have not been released, but for the two months of July and August, 96.24 per cent of patients were waiting less than four hours, against a target of 95 per cent.

Mrs Bertenshaw later said: “The rising number of attendances across urgent care provision in the NHS is a national issue and although locally at ELHT we continue to meet the nationally set standards for emergency care, we recognise that this is a challenge, especially approaching winter.

“We are therefore working closely with primary care to understand the reasons for the increase and to review services in order to ensure we can meet the increasing demand.”

A study by the King’s Fund dound that more hospital trusts failed the four hour accident and emergency target in the first quarter of 2012-13 than in any first quarter since 2004-05.

Between April and June 2012, 35 trusts breached the target for 95 per cent of patients to be admitted or treated and discharged within four hours.

In total 188,594 patients waited more than four hours in A&E in quarter 1 of 2012-13.

Comments (9)

10:38am Mon 1 Oct 12

Rose Rouge says...

A&E waiting times at Blackburn could be reduced by improved provision at Burnley - just a thought....
A&E waiting times at Blackburn could be reduced by improved provision at Burnley - just a thought.... Rose Rouge

11:45am Mon 1 Oct 12

Rumpole says...

I recently had to visit A&E with a suspected broken arm and was seen by a doctor, had an x-ray, and was treated all within 2hrs, which i believe was reasonable considering the waiting room was full.

Waiting times could be slashed considerably if there wasn't drunken idiots kicking off with each other in the waiting room and hypochondriacs needing to see a doctor for a grazed finger.

If people were to respect the NHS and the staff and stop wasting their time with minor ailments that could be treated with a quick visit to the chemist where the staff can help and advise where appropriate then hospitals would be better managed.
I recently had to visit A&E with a suspected broken arm and was seen by a doctor, had an x-ray, and was treated all within 2hrs, which i believe was reasonable considering the waiting room was full. Waiting times could be slashed considerably if there wasn't drunken idiots kicking off with each other in the waiting room and hypochondriacs needing to see a doctor for a grazed finger. If people were to respect the NHS and the staff and stop wasting their time with minor ailments that could be treated with a quick visit to the chemist where the staff can help and advise where appropriate then hospitals would be better managed. Rumpole

12:22pm Mon 1 Oct 12

darwenTower says...

I agree with the above but in my experience A&E has always been a drawn out affair.

I waited 4 hours once and I only needed a tetanus jab.

I'm pretty sure there is no real need to keep people waiting this long.
I agree with the above but in my experience A&E has always been a drawn out affair. I waited 4 hours once and I only needed a tetanus jab. I'm pretty sure there is no real need to keep people waiting this long. darwenTower

12:49pm Mon 1 Oct 12

alf-abett says...

At least this country provides A & Es at most Hospitals to seek treatment at, if you lived in a third world country you would be treated by the local Witch Doctor then die or receive no treatment whatsoever and die or perhaps become a cripple. And yes! I have also waited several hours with the tip of finger missing but, I would sooner spend time waiting for treatment than waiting for death. It's all about perspective!
At least this country provides A & Es at most Hospitals to seek treatment at, if you lived in a third world country you would be treated by the local Witch Doctor then die or receive no treatment whatsoever and die or perhaps become a cripple. And yes! I have also waited several hours with the tip of finger missing but, I would sooner spend time waiting for treatment than waiting for death. It's all about perspective! alf-abett

3:04pm Mon 1 Oct 12

peely says...

Get rid of all the druggies and alchoholics in the A & E dept and there wouldn't be any waiting times ! It,s only the genuine cases that suffer as per usual ! Come the revolution !,
Get rid of all the druggies and alchoholics in the A & E dept and there wouldn't be any waiting times ! It,s only the genuine cases that suffer as per usual ! Come the revolution !, peely

3:13pm Mon 1 Oct 12

mavrick says...

There can be little or no justification for waiting four hours. It simply highlights how understaffed the A&E departments are. I have said previously you can not take £20 billion out of the NHS and keep services. The big problem with the Royal Blackburn is staff retention. They seem to have an over reliance on agency and bank staff. This Hospital should have been a show piece teaching hospital. I can't believe it is so bad. When you look nationwide you can see how much the NHS has been cut. The Tories are hell bent on destroying the whole welfare system in the u.k.
There can be little or no justification for waiting four hours. It simply highlights how understaffed the A&E departments are. I have said previously you can not take £20 billion out of the NHS and keep services. The big problem with the Royal Blackburn is staff retention. They seem to have an over reliance on agency and bank staff. This Hospital should have been a show piece teaching hospital. I can't believe it is so bad. When you look nationwide you can see how much the NHS has been cut. The Tories are hell bent on destroying the whole welfare system in the u.k. mavrick

9:05pm Mon 1 Oct 12

Sajdin says...

The NHS spends millions on dealing with the after affects of drinkers, so stop people drinking. simples and if you cant wait some hours for a free service, then go to another country and see if they do better !
The NHS spends millions on dealing with the after affects of drinkers, so stop people drinking. simples and if you cant wait some hours for a free service, then go to another country and see if they do better ! Sajdin

12:01am Tue 2 Oct 12

Rimbus says...

Sajdin wrote:
The NHS spends millions on dealing with the after affects of drinkers, so stop people drinking. simples and if you cant wait some hours for a free service, then go to another country and see if they do better !
That appears to be your answer to any alcohol related story - 'Ban it!' - As I've tried to impress on you previously, whether you like it or not, the sale and consumption of alcohol in this country is entirely legal. Whilst recognising that there are significant healthcare and social issues directly resulting from the misuse and abuse of alcohol, the answer is in educating people about the dangers, not imposing an arbitrary ban. There are countries in the world where the sale and consumption of alcohol are banned, however, these tend to be the same countries where the subjugation of women is also practiced and often enshrined in law. I don't think we want to go there! Perhaps it's you who needs to go to another country (and by the way, I don't think you'll find a National Health Service there, wherever that may be).
[quote][p][bold]Sajdin[/bold] wrote: The NHS spends millions on dealing with the after affects of drinkers, so stop people drinking. simples and if you cant wait some hours for a free service, then go to another country and see if they do better ![/p][/quote]That appears to be your answer to any alcohol related story - 'Ban it!' - As I've tried to impress on you previously, whether you like it or not, the sale and consumption of alcohol in this country is entirely legal. Whilst recognising that there are significant healthcare and social issues directly resulting from the misuse and abuse of alcohol, the answer is in educating people about the dangers, not imposing an arbitrary ban. There are countries in the world where the sale and consumption of alcohol are banned, however, these tend to be the same countries where the subjugation of women is also practiced and often enshrined in law. I don't think we want to go there! Perhaps it's you who needs to go to another country (and by the way, I don't think you'll find a National Health Service there, wherever that may be). Rimbus

12:58pm Tue 2 Oct 12

darwenTower says...

Sajdin wrote:
The NHS spends millions on dealing with the after affects of drinkers, so stop people drinking. simples and if you cant wait some hours for a free service, then go to another country and see if they do better !
It's not free.
[quote][p][bold]Sajdin[/bold] wrote: The NHS spends millions on dealing with the after affects of drinkers, so stop people drinking. simples and if you cant wait some hours for a free service, then go to another country and see if they do better ![/p][/quote]It's not free. darwenTower

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