The latest figures recording how England’s NHS hospitals are coping with the winter’s pressures – especially in A&E and Emergency Departments – have shown Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon doing better, but still missing the government’s target that 95 per cent of A&E patients should be seen within four hours.
While new figures for December 2014 show that the situation has been considerably worse in Northern Ireland and Wales, across England in the week 5-11 January 84.3 per cent of people going to major A&E hospitals were seen within four hours. In all types of A&E units (including urgent care centres and minor injury units) the average figure was higher at 89.8 per cent.
The week’s figure for GWH recorded 84.2 per cent of patients being seen within four hours – a distinct improvement on the previous week’s 71.7 per cent. The other two acute hospitals that serve Wiltshire also missed the 95 per cent target: Salisbury was better at 91.1 per cent, but Bath’s Royal United Hospital was worse at 76.4 per cent.
As shown below delayed transfers of care at the end of treatment leading to blocked beds were up. And GWH has been hit by an outbreak of norovirus which leads to wards being closed. Not all week-on-week comparisons are shown as there are some errors in the figures.
DATA FOR 5-11 JANUARY | Great Western Hospital | Average for major A&E hospitals in England |
A&E patients seen within 4 hours |
84.2 per cent | 84.3 per cent |
Numbers attending A&E | 1,327 – down 241 | |
Emergency admissions | 488 – down 14 | |
People waiting more than 4 hours in A&E | 210 – down 233 | 280 – down 103 |
Planned operations cancelled | 23 – up 15 | 16.9 – up by 7.5 |
Beds blocked (patients ready to leave hospital but suitable care not available) | 164 – up 14 | 143.1 – up 41.3 |
Bed days lost by closures due to norovirus | 72 | 29.3 |