leahortez86: Bosses order investigation to find cause of delays at A&E

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Bosses order investigation to find cause of delays at A&E

HOSPITAL bosses have ordered an investigation into why around 100 patients spend weeks in its beds and cause knock-on delays in the A&E unit.

The probe at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire was announced as the department continued to keep casualties waiting for treatment longer than Government targets despite millions of pounds pumped into making improvements.

Managers from the Hartshill centre are also to visit hospitals with the best A&E records in the country to try and learn lessons for the department, which sees 105,000 people a year.

Latest figures show how in April 94.1 per cent of patients were treated and either sent home or admitted to a ward within four hours.

This means the unit missed the 95 per cent Whitehall target, which itself has just been relaxed from 98 per cent.

Officials admitted at yesterday's board meeting they were baffled by the continued poor performance as other initiatives had already reduced patient numbers coming in and ensured the complex's 1,200 beds were being used more efficiently.

Now they are to bear down on a group of 100 patients who stay up to 40 days in beds in a bid to try and discharge them sooner.

Trust chairman John MacDonald said: "Despite all the different measures we still don't know where the problems are.

"Frankly we have not got this right and by the end of September we need to have absolute clarity about where the problems are with the flow of patients from when they arrive to when they leave us."

Announcing the inquiry, chief operating officer Vanessa Gardener said: "We don't understand the continued low performance in A&E, but there is a large cohort of patients who stay long periods in beds and our focus now needs to be there.

"We measure lengths of stay at 40, 20 and 14 days and the total number in all these groups is 100."

Among the other hospitals to be visited or contacted by the UHNS are Norwich, where 98.4 per cent of patients are seen within four hours, Aintree, Liverpool (99.4 per cent), Bath (99.3 per cent) and South Devon (98.8 per cent).

The Trust faces a race against time to make improvements before its �400 million superhospital opens with a state-of-the-art A&E centre next spring.

The delays are continuing despite the unit receiving more cash than ever and with 10 consultants, having more senior medical staff than most others in Britain.

Mr MacDonald added: "Our emergency admissions and delayed discharges have fallen dramatically.

"I would have hoped to see improvements in A&E since February.

"We really need to understand this a lot better to bring clarity to where the blockages are so we can focus time, effort and resources into resolving it."

And deputy chief executive Chris Calkin said: "This is a problem that does not get solved despite a huge amount of investment."

Brian Goodfellow, of Newcastle over-60s association, pictured, told the directors: "You have been discussing this problem for five years without bringing a successful solution – it all seems so fragmented."