Patients facing long waits for beds at Wigan's hospitals

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) had 3,125 emergency admissions last month, with the majority of them (2,276) coming via the A&E department at Wigan Infirmary.

But NHS England data shows 1,550 people had to wait more than four hours for a bed, after the decision to admit was made.

That was an increase of four per cent from 1,490 in October and the highest number of people waiting for more than four hours for several years.

There were 380 patients who had to wait more than 12 hours for a bed in November, up 22.6 per cent from 310 patients in October.

The availability of beds has been an issue for some time, with bosses working to ensure patients can go home when they are medically fit or are not admitted to a bed in the first place.

Claire Wannell, interim chief operating officer, said: “WWL continues to face extraordinary pressures on our urgent and emergency care system, this is of particular significance during the winter months. Unfortunately, on some days this does mean that patients are experiencing longer waits in our emergency department to either be discharged or moved to an area most suitable for their needs.

“The trust is tackling long waits in different 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.

“We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from the public, and to further help us to continue to provide safe and effective care, we urge families and friends of patients who are ready to be discharged from our hospitals to support their loved ones to recover at home. Our discharge teams are working incredibly hard to make sure this transition is safe, and recovery at home is always the best option.”

Nationally, the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England, from a decision to admit to actually being admitted, was 42,854 in November, down from 44,655 in October.

The number waiting at least four hours for a bed rose slightly, from 144,926 in October to 146,272 in November.

A total of 12,373 patients sought emergency care in Wigan in November – 7,254 at the A&E department and 5,119 at Leigh Walk-In Centre.

Across the trust, 67.8 per cent of people were seen within four hours, up from 67.3 per cent in October and below the national performance of 69.7 per cent.

Just 45.8 per cent of patients were seen in that time at A&E, compared to 99.1 per cent at the walk-in centre.

The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March for 76 per cent of patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.