A&E at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle has been at "the eye of the storm" amid unprecedented winter NHS pressures, hospital bosses said.
More than 22,000 attended urgent and emergency care services at the Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust over December. This pressure - among the highest ever seen - comes against a backdrop of NHS strikes, and a nightmarish flu season.
Hospital trust boss Dame Jackie Daniel said that "the last few weeks have felt far from festive" in the NHS and added: "We find ourselves, once again, in unprecedented waters, managing in situations that none of us expected.
"I want to acknowledge the toll that this is taking on members of the team at every level and in every area, and the impact that the current pressures are having. I continue to be incredibly grateful to everyone for their hard work and perseverance."
Dame Jackie added that, in spite of the pressures, she had been heartened to hear positive feedback from patients. She continued: "As is often the case, the eye of the storm has been at the front door of the hospital – our emergency department and assessment suite – and the high levels of emergency attendances and admissions we are seeing has had an impact throughout the whole trust."
Chris Gibbins, clinical director at the trust, added: "The last month has brought the most extreme emergency care pressures that we have ever experienced. The sheer number of patients attending our Emergency Department coupled with huge pressures on bed capacity have resulted in patients who require admission waiting for prolonged periods."
He added that, along with directorate manager Keecia Bailey, he wanted to "sincerely thank" staff for their efforts. "Throughout this period of intense pressure the teamwork from everybody has been phenomenal," he said. "And the incredible support that people have shown each other has been critical in keeping everybody going."
Data showing how A&E coped during December highlighted how nationwide, for the first time since records began, less than half of people attending "type 1" emergency departments were seen within four hours - and this is coupled with higher than ever numbers of long "trolley-waits", including in the North East. Type 1 departments include traditional A&Es like at the RVI.
Over the month, a total of 94 patients spent more than 12 hours in A&E waiting for a hospital bed.
In response to the national figures, NHS England's national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “As staff responded to record A&E attendances, 999 calls and emergency ambulance callouts as the ‘twindemic’ led to unprecedented levels of respiratory illness in hospital, they also continued to deliver for patients with more people than ever before receiving diagnostic tests and cancer treatment.
“These figures show just how hard our staff are working, not only in the face of extreme pressure but also in bringing down the Covid backlogs and checking more people for cancer than ever before in one month.”
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