County A&E waiting times second worst in country

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has also missed its target for cancer care, but it did scored highly in other areas, hitting targets in planned operations.

In September, 70.4 per cent of patients were treated or admitted within four hours of arriving at the A&Es in the county, according to figures from NHS England. The target is 95 per cent.

The only trust ranking lower than SaTH was United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, where 69.5 per cent of patients were seen within four hours.

Of the trusts, 18 hit the 95 per cent target, while 113 trusts missed it. The average across England was 88.9 per cent.

The news comes after it was revealed more than 30,000 people waited four hours or more in A&E between 2017-18, according to NHS England.

Overall 72 per cent of people were discharged, transferred or admitted to a ward within four hours of arriving.

The 2017-18 report shows that the trust's major A&E department saw the equivalent of 317 people a day last year.

About 115,700 people went to A&E in the last financial year, down from 119,900 the previous year.

Of these, 32,840 waited for more than four hours, from arriving in A&E to being discharged, transferred or admitted to a ward.

Last month 82.3 per cent of patients started cancer treatment within 62 days of urgent GP referral, missing a target of 85 per cent. The average across the trusts was 79.4 per cent.

But SaTH did hit other targets, with 92.5 per cent of patients having planned operations and care within 18 weeks of referral against a 92 per cent target.

Sara Biffen, deputy chief operating officer at SaTH, said: “It is pleasing to see that, in August, 92.5 per cent of our patients received planned operations or planned care within 18 weeks of being referred to us – above the 92 per cent target and the national average of 87.2 per cent.

“This is a testament to the hard work of our staff and I would like to thank them for their continued efforts.

“We know that our performance against the A&E target is not where we want it to be, but our first priority is to ensure our patients are treated safely and appropriately.

“Our A&E departments remain under a great deal of pressure, dealing with increasing attendances and more and more complex conditions, such as respiratory problems, which mean more people are being admitted into our hospitals.

“The challenges we face in our A&Es are well known and require a long-term strategic solution. In the meantime, we continue to work with our partners both in the NHS and in social care so that those patients who no longer need the specialist care we provide can leave our hospitals in a safe and timely manner.

“Although our referral to treatment for cancer patients fell below the 85 per cent target in August, from 86.4 per cent in July, we still performed better than the national average of 79.4 per cent and will continue to work hard to maintain our performance in this area.”