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Demand increases for northern Lincolnshire’s hard-pressed A&Es
A sharp rise in demand for northern Lincolnshire’s accident and emergency departments did not stop further waiting time improvements in May.
Last month, there were over a thousand more patients attending Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s (NLAG) A&Es than in April, or May 2022. This pressure possibly led to increased numbers of emergency admissions waiting 12 hours or more.
In total, 673 people had a 12 hour or more wait at northern Lincolnshire’s A&Es, compared to 454 the month before and 325 last May, the latest NHS England data shows. The proportion of people admitted within four hours or less from decision to admit improved though for the third consecutive month.
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NLAG’s chief operating officer Shaun Stacey welcomed the improved within four hours figures. But he said the emergency departments “continue to be extremely busy”. Patients with minor injuries and illnesses are also being asked to consider other options instead of A&E ahead of another 72 hour junior doctors’ walkout.
There were 14,491 patients at northern Lincolnshire’s A&Es in May. This was up 10 per cent, or 1,365, compared to April. Last May, there were 13,338 admissions.
Of these patients, 65.2 per cent were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. In April, by the same metric NLAG’s A&E’s attended to 61.3 per cent of patients in the same time period, and in May 2022 it was 65.5 per cent.
A&Es have a target for 95 per cent of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. Across England, the average was 74 per cent and NLAG’s emergency departments were in the bottom performing quarter. Once again, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) was bottom, with 49.3 per cent seen to within four hours.
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Since mid-March, Scunthorpe General Hospital has had its new £17.3m A&E department open, double the capacity of its forerunner. The Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital’s £17.9m A&E opened in the autumn.
“All of our staff continue to work extremely hard to care for patients and make decisions regarding their care in a timely manner,” said Mr Stacey. “We are pleased to see an increase in the percentage of patients admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.
“However, we know some patients do experience a long wait and I’d like to apologise to those who have. Our Emergency Departments (EDs) continue to be extremely busy with high numbers of patients attending, many of whom need admitting to hospital.”
He explained the emergency departments no longer had beds available to admit patients when hospitals became full. As a result, patients are prioritised in order of clinical need, leading to longer waits than wished for others.
“We do ensure that those patients who do need to be admitted are well-cared for by our nursing teams while they are waiting, and that our specialist clinicians carry out regular reviews to ensure the best possible treatment plan is in place.” Despite the demand, Mr Stacey encouraged people to not hesitate to come to A&E if needed.
“If it’s not urgent, please consider contacting your GP, visiting the GP Out of Hours service, contacting NHS 111 or seeing your local pharmacist.”
NLAG moved out of special measures for quality of care and finances last month after significant improvements had been made. It was placed in double special measures six years earlier.
Fresh junior doctors’ strike action is taking place from 7am on Wednesday, June 14, to 7am on Saturday, June 17. NLAG has said as with previous strikes, plan are being put in place to minimise disruption.
Patients with appointments or procedures will be contacted directly if they are to be postponed, while the Trust has asked people to consider alternative options to A&Es on strike days for minor injuries and ailments.
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The British Medical Association (BMA) is asking for a 35 per pay rise to reflect 15 years of below-inflation rises. The government’s current offer is five per cent, below inflation at present.
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