Latest NHS figures have painted a concerning picture as A&Es continue to feel the pressure as there are long waits for beds and ambulances.
This week, all 10 ambulance services across England were put at the highest alert level as they say they're struggling to effectively meet demand. At the same time, the UK Health Security Agency declared a Level 3 heat-health alert for the majority of the country warning of the increased risk to health which is likely to increase the demand for NHS services.
At hospital trusts across Merseyside, 173 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E for a ward bed, after a decision to admit was taken, up from 93 in May. That’s compared to just 7 in June 2021.
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A total of 69,949 people arrived at Merseyside’s A&Es in June, down from 72,410 in May. Many of them faced waiting more than four hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred - the target is just 5% should wait this long.
At Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 35.5% of people arriving in A&E waited more than four hours in June, while 34.9% at St Helens And Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, 34.9%. At Liverpool University Hospitals Nhs Foundation Trust, 33% of people waited more than four hours, and 22.3% waited that long at Alder Hey Children'S Nhs Foundation Trust and Southport And Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust.
Delays in admitting people to wards from A&E can be impacted by issues with discharging patients who are well enough to go home from beds. In June, an average of 11,989 people each day were in hospital when they could have left, although that was down from 12,228 in May and 12,589 in April.
An interim report by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch found that demand on services, the availability of beds and patient flow through acute hospitals (including the discharge of patients to social and community care) affected the ability of ambulances to hand over patients to emergency care. It warned patients who wait in ambulances at an emergency department are at potential risk of coming to harm due to deterioration or not being able to access timely and appropriate treatment.
The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives told the investigation that there is a strong correlation between ambulance handover delays and increasing ambulance response times. In June, the average response time for North West Ambulance Service for a Category 1 call, the highest priority life-threatening calls, was eight minutes and 12 seconds, above the target of seven minutes.
Ambulances should get to Category 2 emergency calls, ones that aren’t immediately life-threatening but where rapid assessment of symptoms that could be a stroke or heart attack is needed, in 18 minutes on average. On average, these calls are taking 39 minutes and 46 seconds in the area.
For urgent calls, 90% of ambulances should arrive within two hours. In June, 90% of urgent calls to North West Ambulance Service were arriving within seven hours and 21 minutes. Across England, in June, 22,034 people across England waited more than 12 hours in A&E to be admitted to a ward bed, after a decision to admit them was taken, according to figures from NHS England. That was up from 19,053 in May.
It was also the third highest number since records began in August 2010. More than a quarter (27.9%) of patients arriving in A&E are waiting more than four hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred. In other parts of hospitals, it's a more mixed picture. NHS Trusts continue to make good progress on the target to ensure no one waits more than two years for routine treatment by the end of July.
As of the week ending July 3, there were 3,548 still waiting more than two years for treatment, compared to 8,028 at the end of May. However, the number of people waiting over a year from treatment had risen from 323,093 in April to 331,623 in May, and the overall number of people on the waiting list rose to a new record high of 6.61 million.
Diagnostic tests are a key part of getting people the right treatment, and the NHS carried out 2.065 million tests in May. However, a quarter (26.0%) of people who need tests such as MRIs and CT scans have been waiting more than the target time of six weeks.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said, in the same week NHS staff received the George Cross for their exceptional efforts throughout the pandemic, the figures show hardworking teams across the country are making good progress in addressing the Covid backlogs.
He said: “There is no doubt the NHS still faces significant pressures, from rising Covid admissions, thousands of staff absences due to the virus, the heatwave, and record demand for ambulances and emergency care. The latest figures also continue to show just how important community and social care are in helping to free up vital capacity and NHS bed space – supporting those in hospital to leave when they are fit to do so, which is also better for patient recovery.
“While the current heatwave is not shown in today’s figures, it also affects NHS capacity – but it remains important that anyone needing emergency care dials 999, and the public use 111 online and local pharmacies for other health issues and advice.”
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