Trust hits A&E waiting target

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THE TRUST which runs the Alexandra and Worcestershire Royal hospitals has hit its A&E waiting time target for the second month in a row.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust treated, admitted or transferred over 96 per cent of patients at both sites within four hours during August. The Government's target is 95 per cent.

It comes at a time when the Trust has been struggling to cope with a surge in demand.

Emergency admissions are up four per cent on the previous year and the improved performance is a result of measures introduced including doubling the number of emergency nurse practitioners to offer more support and extra training for nurses which meant there was more staff available to carry out x-ray requests and blood test orders.

The Trust hit the target for the first time this year in July when 95.6 per cent of patients were dealt with within the required time but the figure has dipped as low as 88.43 per cent in April.

Clare Bush, emergency department manager and senior sister at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, said: "It’s a great feeling to meet this target. It’s a measure of our success and lets us know we’re going in the right direction with the changes we’ve made over the last year.

"At the same time we’ve worked hard to maintain care quality and put patients at the centre of everything we’re doing."

Sister Lorraine Ellis, from the Alexandra Hospital, added: "It is the hard work of all staff that has enabled the department to deliver good quality care to our patients."

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