18,000 patients suffer four-hour A&E wait at Sandwell hospitals
More than 18,000 hospital patients were left waiting in A&E for more than four hours at Sandwell and City Hospitals during the first six months of 2017.
Sandwell's NHS trust has failed to meet the nationwide target on A&E waiting times for the past two years and is continuing to struggle to get patients seen on time.
Bosses have targeted reaching the 95 per cent target by next year but figures show the problem has got worse, with double the amount of patients waiting more than four hours in May and June compared to the same period in 2016.
Just 83 per cent of patients were treated within four hours in June – well below the 95 per cent target.
Health chiefs are aiming to reach 90 per cent by September and the 95 per cent NHS benchmark by next March.
Toby Lewis, chief executive at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I apologise to patients who do spend longer with us than we would want, as we continue to prioritise patients based wholly on clinical need.
“We have put in place considerable efforts to reduce waiting times in A&E and in the last few weeks we have seen sustained improvement. However, we still fall short of our aim to cut by fifty the number of people waiting too long each day.
“We have seen a rise in the number of people attending our departments but we want to plan for that and meet need even when that happens.
“In the next few weeks a significant number of additional appointment slots with local general practice will be opened, which we very much hope will help to reduce the pressure on A&E and offer patients a more suitable model of care for their needs.”
Figures showed a total of 18,119 people had waited more than four hours to be seen at Sandwell and City Hospitals up to July this year.
And the problem has not got better since the end of the winter period, a notoriously difficult time for hospitals.
The number of patients kept waiting over four hours climbed to a year high of 3,549 in May, falling slightly to 3,014 in June. That compares 1,625 in June 2016.
Trust chief executive Toby Lewis said waiting times were 'longer than we would all want' but that he was confident the issue would be addressed.
He said steps had already been taken to improve the situation, including increasing the amount of senior staff working up to 10pm.
Mr Lewis has been unequivocal over the need for change on waiting times, telling board members recently that 'we need to make it unacceptable and have a need to focus on that target'.
Health bosses are aiming to transform care in Sandwell over the next few years with the opening of the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital, currently under construction in Grove Lane, Smethwick and due to open in spring 2019.
Sandwell Hospital and City Hospital, the two units run by the trust, will be downscaled when the new hospital opens.
