'Not what we would want' - Blackpool Victoria Hospital responds to English record 12-hour A&E waits
“We remain committed to reducing these waits.”
Blackpool Victoria Hospital has responded to new analysis showing it recorded the highest proportion of patients spending more than 12 hours in A&E among major emergency departments in England.
After stats showed that, between June and August, 4,895 of the 18,765 patients Blackpool Victoria’s emergency department spent more than 12 hours there (from arrival through to admission, transfer, or discharge), Chief Operating Officer (COO) Janet Barnsley said long waits are ‘not what we would want for anyone.’
The proportion of patients spending more than 12 hours at Blackpool Victoria’s A&E stood at 26.1% of patients – more than one in four – compared with 9.7% across England, or around one in 10. This equates to a rate of more than twice the England-wide proportion of patients spending more than 12 hours there during the period covered by the analysis.
“Long waits in any of our services are not what we would want for anyone, and this particularly applies in the environment of our Emergency Department,” said COO of at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Janet Barnsley. “We remain committed to reducing these waits, with changes such as a focus on eliminating corridor care and ambulance handover delays, and helping patients avoid a hospital stay if they don’t need one through making best use of our community service alternatives to hospital and our 24/7 Medical Assessment Centre.
“We are also continuing to deliver our ongoing ward maintenance programme across the hospital, which has temporarily reduced the beds available. This essential work is being undertaken to address ageing infrastructure and help prevent the unplanned closure of beds in the future, ensuring we can continue to provide safe, high-quality care for our patients.
“As we approach winter, traditionally the most pressured time for the NHS, I’d like to remind people to choose the most appropriate way to get the help they need. If it isn’t an emergency this could include their own GP, local pharmacy, calling NHS 111 or visiting a walk-in centre.”
Blackpool Victoria Hospital also ranked as 6th worst in the UK for the ‘percentage of elective patients waiting less than 18 weeks to start consultant led treatment’.