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Revealed: 1,000 patients forced to wait 12 hours at Walsall Manor Hospital A&E

More than 1,000 people had to wait over 12 hours to be seen at Walsall Manor Hospital's A&E department last year, new figures have revealed.

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The 1,016 people who had to wait over half a day last year is more than the previous two years combined, where 817 people were left with the marathon wait.

Some months have seen over 1,000 per cent increases.

The figures have been branded 'disappointing' by council leader Mike Bird who has again called on central government to put more money into the borough's hospital, as opposed to New Cross in Wolverhampton.

As well as the 1,016 people who had to wait 12 hours or more last year, exactly 9,000 patients breached the four-hour guideline wait, according to the freedom of information request.

In January last year, 211 people had to wait 12 hours or more at Walsall Manor's A&E department.

This figure was 15 in 2014 and 13 in 2013, an increase of 1,400 per cent. Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust has apologised for the long waits, and blamed the surge in figures on increased demand at the hospital.

Steven Vaughan, interim chief operating officer at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust said: "We continue to face significant pressure from the number of admissions to our emergency department, including patients from Staffordshire who are now coming to Walsall for treatment.

"Unfortunately, this does impact on our capacity and this means some patients are not seen as quickly as they should be.

"We are doing all we can to continue to provide services to our local population. Our community healthcare teams are working hard to avoid people being unnecessarily admitted to hospital and also to support patients at home following discharge.

"We are also working with social care services, nursing homes and local GPs to ensure patients ready to leave hospital can be discharged promptly."

Earlier this year Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust was placed into special measures with particular concerns raised about the Manor's A&E department.

Walsall Council leader, Councillor Bird, said: "These figures are disappointing and symptomatic of the Government investing in New Cross and not in the Manor. A&E and maternity are two big issues and there's only one way to solve it and that's with money."

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