More than 2,200 people had to wait over 12 hours in A&E departments in Greater Manchester last month, according to the latest data released by the NHS.
A total of 109,246 people attended emergency departments across the region region in September. But some 2,236 of those had to wait over 12 hours before being admitted.
The situation is only getting worse, the figures show, as more people come through the doors to A&E, there is higher demand on 999 services, and patients are filling up hospital beds due to lack of space within the social care sector. Month-on-month and year-on-year, A&E waiting times are continuously deteriorating in Greater Manchester.
In August 1,724 people had to wait more than 12 hours in A&E. That means the number has increased by 30 per cent in the space of just a month.
In July, 1,751 patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E, whereas back in January, it was 1,169.
Fewer than two thirds - 59 per cent - of people attending A&E last month were admitted within four hours, with 64,221 out of the total 109,246 being seen in that time.
The situation in Greater Manchester is reflected across the country. A total of 32,776 people across England had to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E. 63 per cent of A&E attendees were admitted within four hours.
In the last quarter, (July to September 2022) the total was 90,849 people waiting longer than 12 hours around the country.
That’s compared to 10,019 people at the same time last year, 952 people the year before that - and just 19 people back in 2010, the year the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition came to power.
Steve Dixon, chief delivery officer of NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care, responded to the figures. The long waiting times come as a result of higher numbers of people walking through the doors to A&E, more people calling 999 and needing ambulance help, and hospital beds being full up so now more patients coming through the emergency avenues can be admitted.
He said: “Demand on urgent care services across Greater Manchester and the rest of the country is very high. We know that patients have too often faced long waits at emergency departments and understand how frustrating this is when worried about their own health care, or that of a loved one.
"Our clinical teams always treat patients in order of their clinical need and do everything possible to keep services for patients safe."
Heading into winter, the Greater Manchester NHS boss says that hospital beds are desperately trying to be freed up by the service, but 'realistically' the problem will not be fixed entirely.
“We continue to strive to improve waiting times and services for patients," continued Mr Dixon. "We are working hard to free up hospital beds and improve flow through emergency departments to reduce waiting times but realistically we cannot fix this entirely. There are significant challenges in workforce numbers across all parts of health and social care nationally which together with partners we are seeking to address, though this a long-term fix.
"We have received additional winter preparedness investment from the government, which we are using to improve call handling times across NHS 111 and 999 increasing access; rolling out initiatives which seek to increase hospital bed numbers to speed up admission and reduce waiting in emergency departments; and speeding up discharge from hospital where appropriate."
Beyond the efforts to free up hospital beds and the extra government funding, it's the responsibility of patients to choose the right place for their care. If patients do not have a life-threatening or emergency situation, they should seek other forms of help, says the NHS chief.
“Health and social care staff are working hard in often very difficult circumstances," Mr Dixon told the Manchester Evening News . "We are anticipating this winter will be hard, exacerbated by the health and wellbeing impact of the cost-of-living crisis that is affecting everyone.
"We would encourage people to do what they can to keep themselves and their loves ones well and access services in the right way. We know that people generally know when to seek emergency help, but we would also encourage anyone who is not sure to use NHS 111 online or to contact NHS 111 first for advice.”
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