A&E waiting times among worst in country

Nearly one in five patients had to wait more than 12 hours for emergency treatment in Worcestershire's hospitals in December, according to new figures.

It means Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is among the worst-performing hospital trusts in the country.

Bosses have apologised and said extra beds have been made available to ease the strain on emergency departments.

The trust's managing director, Stephen Collman, said: "Our teams are continuing to work hard, alongside our partners across the wider health and care system, to reduce the pressure on ED [emergency departments] and ensure patients get the care they need."

Figures from NHS England showed 21.8% of patients had to wait at least 12 hours to receive emergency treatment at Worcestershire's hospitals last month, the fifth highest proportion in the country.

Liberal Democrat county councillor Dan Boatright-Greene expressed his concern: "Another winter, another year of terrifying underperformance in our hospitals.

"The government has committed to £2.45 billion of extra spending in the NHS next year, but it is clear that after 14 years of Conservative mismanagement, we need a clear plan of action to tackle the backlog, not just on our waiting lists but in our emergency care."

Mr Collman said: "Both of our emergency departments at the Alexandra Hospital and Worcestershire Royal Hospital are extremely busy, and I'd like to apologise to those patients who are having, and have had, lengthy waits.

"Our continued focus remains on creating enough beds for urgent admissions while also minimising the impact on patients attending for planned procedures, in particular for cancer patients.

"We have increased the use of our Same Day Emergency Care services, freeing up more beds for patients who need to be admitted – including the creation of an additional 25-bed 'winter ward' at Worcestershire Royal Hospital."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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