A&E patients left waiting 12 hours at Walsall Manor Hospital
Crisis-hit Walsall Manor Hospital breached A&E regulations with four patients waiting more than 12 hours for treatment in just one day.
Bosses have blamed the breaches on failures to form effective contingency plans as the hospital – which is already in special measures – comes under increasing pressure.
It has led Walsall Council leader Sean Coughlan to describe healthcare in the town as 'in a bad way' as he said he felt sorry for over-stretched staff.
The 12-hour breaches for treatment in A&E at the Manor happened between January 2 and 3 this year.
The trust say only two of the incidents were carried forward for an investigation.
Philip Thomas-Hands, chief operating officer at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust said: "Our emergency department felt significant pressure from the number of admissions over the Christmas and New Year period. Unfortunately, this impacted upon our capacity and meant some patients were not seen as quickly as they should have been which led to these breaches."
The breaches will now be discussed by the Trust's board at a meeting on Thursday.
The national target for A&E waiting times is for 95 per cent of patients to be seen in less than hours.
The hospital has faced further pressures on its A&E since neighbouring County Hospital shut its A&E service for under-18s in August. Although the minor injuries unit is now due to reopen on Monday.
Walsall Council leader Sean Coughlan said he 'feels sorry' for the trust and put its current situation down to a lack of help from the Government in terms of funding.
He said: "These waiting time figures do concern me but I have to say I feel sorry for the staff and bosses at the Manor.
"They are under increased stress, they are under funded and are tackling the issue of caring for an ageing population at a time when they are getting less and less money from the Government. The healthcare economy in Walsall is in a bad way.
Mr Thomas-Hands added: "Since these breaches; the Trust has worked with the commissioners, social care and West Midlands Ambulance Service to improve the way we communicate and deal with pressures while the hospital has developed a Full Capacity Protocol to safely accommodate increased numbers of admissions."
