Midlands hospital trusts miss three key targets for a year

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust have all missed the three targets for a whole year.

Twelve out of 135 English hospital trusts failed to hit the targets for four-hour A&E waits, 62-day cancer care, and planned operations and treatment.

Just one service in the whole of the UK – run by Luton and Dunstable NHS Trust – has managed to hit all three targets each time over the past 12 months.

Gwen Nuttall, chief operating officer at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, said: “We always strive to provide high quality, safe care for every one of our patients. There are a number of national targets that the Trust works hard to achieve; however, over the last 12 months’ there are times when this hasn’t always been possible.

“Meeting national targets will always be a challenge but we are doing all that we can to ensure our patients are not waiting longer than necessary to receive the care that they need.

“We are currently one of the best performers in the Midlands for achieving the A&E target, and are routinely in the top 25% of all hospital trusts across the country.”

Paula Clark, UHNM chief executive, said: “UHNM is one of the busiest trusts in the UK providing award winning services across a whole host of specialities, including major trauma.

“However, collectively our local health and social care economy faces real challenges in improving the flow of patients through the whole NHS in the North Midlands, from admission to discharge, with many patients who are medically fit waiting in a hospital bed to go to their next place of care.

“This impacts on waiting times in A&E and causes delayed operations for patients as surgical beds are used to cope with emergency pressures.

“We have been working hard internally, and with our partners, to implement plans that will improve the experience of our patients and will get them to the right place to receive their care in a timely way."

Wolverhampton Liberal Democrat activist Rob Quarmby: "Growing demand has stretched the NHS beyond its limits.

"We are at crisis point and this means targets for A&E and even cancer patients are being missed.

"These targets aren't just numbers, they are people's lives.

"Even our extraordinarily hard-working doctors and nurses can only do so much when they have a government unwilling to address chronic funding shortages."

A spokesman for the Department of Health in England said more money was being spent on services, and said despite the longer waiting times the majority of hospitals were still providing good or outstanding care, according to inspectors.

Because of ageing populations 'health systems worldwide face similar pressures', the spokesman added.