The proportion of patients waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments at York and Scarborough hospitals has more than doubled since April, with Scarborough facing particularly severe delays due to staff shortages.
The proportion of patients waiting more than 12 hours on trolleys in emergency departments at York and Scarborough hospitals has more than doubled since April, according to new NHS figures.
At the York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 14.6 per cent of Type 1 emergency department attendances resulted in a wait of more than 12 hours in August, compared with 5.9 per cent in April, according to a recently published report.
The figure has now increased for four consecutive months, rising from 12 per cent in May, to 12.4 per cent in June, 14.1 per cent in July and 14.6 per cent in August.
The trust’s target trajectory for August was 9.9 per cent, while its longer-term ambition is to reduce the proportion of 12-hour waits to below five per cent by March 2027.
The latest performance report described urgent and emergency care pressures as the trust’s “most significant operational and patient-safety concern” and warned that performance in August was behind trajectory across emergency care standards, 12-hour waits, length of stay and timely discharge measures.
Trust bosses said the situation was particularly challenging at Scarborough Hospital, where a shortage of senior doctors and decision-makers was contributing to longer waits.
The report stated:
“The proportion of patients spending over 12 hours in ED is markedly higher in Scarborough than York. One reason for the performance level at Scarborough is the initial time to see a doctor.”
It added:
“Low numbers of senior decision makers and medics, particularly overnight, is sometimes driving long waits.”
However, a business case is in development for investment into additional medical staffing, the report states, and in the meantime, “there is an agreement for short-term increases in shifts available; however, there is often no uptake”.
According to the trust, staffing pressures, including high levels of sickness absence among doctors and nurses, continue to affect performance. Ongoing delays in discharging medically fit patients into community and social care services are also impacting hospital flow.
A separate report to the trust’s Quality Committee highlighted “increased risk of patient harm from long waits, corridor care, delayed assessment and treatment, increased complaints and poorer patient experience”.
Emergency medicine generated the highest number of complaints, particularly relating to waiting times and communication.
The trust said it was working on a range of measures to improve performance, including a “coming off corridors” programme, a first assessment bay trial at Scarborough’s emergency department, improvements to patient flow, and efforts to increase senior medical cover. A business case is also being developed for additional medical staffing.
Health bosses said measures introduced during September were expected to improve patient flow through emergency departments and help reduce the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours.
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
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