Patients' experiences at Wigan’s hospitals worsen

The Care Quality Commission, which carried out the survey, said the long-term worsening of patient experience in NHS emergency care could not be ignored.The 162 respondents at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) gave the emergency department an average of 6.9 out of 10 for overall experience in 2022.

It is down from 8.1 out of 10 when the survey was last done in 2020.

Nationally, 18 per cent of respondents gave a score of four or lower, with zero being a very poor experience. It was a leap from eight per cent two years prior.The CQC previously said high call volumes and staff shortages in NHS 111 were leading to delays in people receiving medical advice and more people going to A&E.A lack of available GP and dental appointments means NHS 111 cannot always send people to those, leading to people being asked to call 999 or go to A&E instead, it added.The survey also showed the proportion of people feeling they were treated with respect and dignity in hospitals across England declined from 81 per cent in 2020 to 72 per cent last year.Patients gave WWL a grade of eight out of 10 on the matter – down from 9.1 in the previous survey.Dr Sean O’Kelly, the CQC’s chief inspector of healthcare, said staff were working extremely hard amid challenging circumstances.However, he added: "We cannot afford to ignore the long-term decline shown in relation to issues like waiting times, information provided when people leave to go home, access to pain relief and emotional support."The proportion of patients across England who said they waited longer than four hours to be examined in A&E last year more than quadrupled to 17 per cent – up from four per cent in 2020.At WWL, patients gave a score of 4.4 out of 10 regarding the length of time they waited to be examined – a fall from 6.1 two years earlier.

Rabina Tindale, WWL’s chief nurse, said: “WWL acknowledges the report from the CQC on patient experience and welcomes the results showing the trust in the expected ranges that were assessed at the time.

“However, our reality has been that the trust continues to face extreme pressures on our emergency department and, unfortunately, because of these pressures, there are times when patients are waiting longer to be seen than we would like. This can unfortunately impact the patient experience, when as always, our priority at WWL is ensuring patient safety.

“WWL has been making improvements to address the pressures on our emergency department through a number of ways, such as utilising our same-day emergency care unit to divert patients away from A&E to a more appropriate level of care, which includes rapid assessment, diagnosis and treatment without being admitted to a ward, and, if clinically safe to do so, a return home. Our pioneering virtual ward service is also playing a huge part, allowing patients to be monitored and treated within the comfort of their own homes.

“The emergency department is not always the first place to come when you require medical attention, and the public can support our services by accessing services correctly.”