Hull hospitals worst in England for A&E waits, NHS figures show

In November, just over 58% of people waited over four hours to be seen at hospital A&Es in Hull

Patients at hospital A&Es in Hull are less likely to be seen within the official four-hour target than anywhere else in England, NHS figures show.

In November, 58.2% of patients at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust sites waited over four hours to be admitted or discharged.

That was almost double the average figure for England of 31.1%.

Ellen Ryabov, from the trust, said the target was "linked with other pressures within the wider health system".

She added: "The trust has been dealing with a sustained, high level of demand for urgent care for many months and our staff are working incredibly hard to provide the best possible care they can.

"As the major trauma centre for the region, we manage a lot of complex cases and will always prioritise those in need of emergency or lifesaving treatment over more routine, non-urgent requests for care."

Ms Ryabov said there were problems with "the availability of services to support patients' ongoing recovery outside hospital when they are medically fit to leave".

In the coming weeks, the Hull trust would be working with its partners across health and social to care to give "a renewed focus on tackling our collective system pressures", she said.

It was hoped there would be a "corresponding improvement in performance", Ms Ryabov added.

Sheffield Children's Hospital was the best performing in the region for A&E waiting times, according to the NHS figures

Two other hospitals in Yorkshire were also on the NHS list of England's 10 worst performers for A&E waiting times.

At Airedale Hospital, in West Yorkshire, 48.4% of patients waited more than four hours to be admitted or discharged in November, while at Barnsley Hospital that number stood at 46%.

Sheffield Children's Hospital was the best performing in the region, with 83.7% of patients seen within four hours, followed by the city's teaching hospitals with 75.7%.

Meanwhile, at York and Scarborough Hospitals, 71% of patients were seen within the four-hour target time.

'System is struggling'

Dr Steve Crane, a consultant in emergency medicine at York Hospital, said it was the busiest period he could remember in his 20-year career.

Pressure on the availability of hospital beds and difficulties discharging patients were among the reasons for delays seeing patients in A&E, he said.

Dr Crane described the last few months as "difficult".

"The A&E department is the barometer of the whole of the health service," he said.

"The reason we have these long waits is because the rest of the health service, the rest of the system, is struggling."

York Hospital is currently in the middle of a £15m redevelopment of its A&E department and has introduced an Emergency Assessment Unit to try and cut waiting times.

The unit treats around 50 patients a day who are unwell but may not need hospital admission.

Dr Steve Crane, at York Hospital, said A&Es were currently the busiest he could remember in his 20-year career

NHS England said nationally the figures were the worst since records began 17 years ago, with the target of 95% of A&E patients being seen within four hours last reached in July 2015.

Responding, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the health and social care services had faced "immense pressure" and £8bn was being provided "to boost performance and recover services to pre-pandemic levels".

He added: "The coming months will be challenging, but I am determined to tackle waiting times and improve access for patients."

The government was allocating an extra £500m "to speed up hospital discharge, get ambulances back on the road quicker, increase the number of NHS call handlers and create the equivalent of at least 7,000 more beds", Mr Barclay said.