A record number of patients were forced to wait more than 12 hours for a bed at two Greater Manchester hospitals last month, new figures have revealed. It comes as around one-third of patients at each of the region's A&E's waited more than four hours in the emergency departments - and after a highly pressured Easter weekend.
Meanwhile, thousands are on waiting lists for their treatments, with more than 3,000 now two years into their queue for their procedure. These figures come as the Government has pledged to eliminate waits by over two years by July.
Greater Manchester's A&E struggles are reflected across the country, as England as a whole marks record A&E waits and the largest ever number of people waiting for treatment. The head of the British Medical Association has warned "t hese latest NHS performance statistics highlight the enormous pressure that the health service is still having to endure".
READ MORE: 'Record patient levels' at A&E after hospital warning to stay away over Bank Holiday weekend
A&E waiting times worsened for the country's largest NHS trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, according to the latest data published by the NHS. The trust operates Manchester Royal Infirmary, the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Wythenshawe Hospital, Trafford General and North Manchester General Hospital, among it's emergency and urgent care services at a host of sites.
At Manchester University NHS Trust, just 62.5 per cent of people who visited A&E in March waited less than four hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred. That was down from 63.4 per cent in February. The target is for 95 per cent of people to wait less than four hours.
That leaves 37.5 per cent of people who visited A&E in March - some 16,630 out of 44,351 patients - waiting more than four hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred at MFT A&E. That's up from 36.6 per cent in February.
Some people also faced long waits for a ward bed after a decision was taken to admit them into hospital. In March, 69 people out of the 10,696 admitted in total waited more than 12 hours at hospitals in the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), up from 54 a month before.
In comparison to previous years, pre-pandemic, in March of 2019 84.9 per cent of patients which attended A&E were seen within four hours - 30,478 out of 35,900 in total. Of the 8,978 who were admitted to hospital, none were left waiting more than 12 hours from the decision to give them a bed.
There has been an uptick in patients overall post-pandemic, medics have told the Manchester Evening News , however MFT has gained operation of another A&E at North Manchester General Hospital in the time elapsed, therefore adding more patients to the trust's figures.
This is how other trusts in Greater Manchester performed during March. Find out how your local A&E is doing:
- Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Salford Royal Hospital, Fairfield General, the Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary. 59.5 per cent waited less than four hours, leaving 40.5 per cent waiting more than four hours, a record high of 12,856 out of all 31,754 patients who attended the trust's A&Es. Of the 8,310 patients admitted, 452 people waited more than 12 hours for a ward bed. In March 2019, the Northern Care Alliance did not exist.
- Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Stepping Hill Hospital - 63 per cent of people waited less than four hours. 37 per cent waited more than four hours - 3,830 out of 10,351 patients who attended A&E in total. Of those admitted, totalling 3,705, 11 people waited more than 12 hours for a ward bed.
By comparison, of the 8,676 patients which attended A&E in March 2019, 7,025 attended for less than four hours - 81 per cent. Of the 3,617 patients admitted, none waited longer than 12 hours.
- Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Tameside Hospital - 64.1 per cent of people waited less than four hours. 45.9 per cent waited more than four hours - 3,859 out of 10,760 patients. Of those admitted, 2,489 patients, 116 people waited more than 12 hours for a ward bed, a record high.
Of the 13,061 patients which attended A&E in March 2019, 11,478 attended for less than four hours - 87.9 per cent. Of the 2,485 patients admitted, none waited longer than 12 hours. - Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, which operates the Royal Bolton Hospital - 59.8 per cent per cent of people waited less than four hours, with 40.2 per cent waiting more than four hours, a record high. 4,992 patients out of the 12,432 which attended A&E in total were waiting more than four hours. Of the 2,977 admitted, 182 people waited more than 12 hours for a ward bed, also a record high.
In comparison, in March 2019, 8,861 patients were seen within four hours out of a total of 10,435 - 84.9 per cent. And out of 3,238 hospital admissions, just two were waiting longer than 12 hours for a bed. - Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust, which operates Wigan Infirmary and Leigh Infirmary - 70.1 per cent of people waited less than four hours, with 9,924 patients being seen in that timeframe out of the total 14,165 which attended in March. Of the 2,799 admitted, 125 people waited more than 12 hours for a ward bed.
Of the 8,333 patients which attended A&E in March 2019, 6,543 attended for less than four hours - 78.5 per cent. Of the 2,898 patients admitted, none waited longer than 12 hours.
For other hospital services, there were 157,284 people waiting for routine treatment at Manchester University NHS Trust. Of these, almost half - 49.5 per cent - had been waiting for more than the target of 18 weeks at the end of February. There were 13,768 people who had been waiting more than a year at the end of February, up from 13,553 people in January.
The Government has pledged to eliminate waits over two years by July. At Manchester University NHS Trust, there were 2,137 people who had been waiting this long in February, down from 2,158 in January.
If you’re a patient or NHS staff member and want to speak anonymously about your experience over the Bank Holiday, contact helena.vesty@reachplc.com.
Other trusts in the area also saw large numbers waiting:
- Northern Care Alliance NHS Trust - there were 134,981 people waiting for routine treatment at the end of February, with 46.7 per cent waiting more than 18 weeks. Among those, 6,792 had been waiting more than a year, up from 6,234 in January, and 430 had been waiting more than two years, up from 357 - a record high.
- Stockport NHS Trust - there were 38,851 people waiting for routine treatment at the end of February, with 48 per cent waiting more than 18 weeks. Among those, 3,707 had been waiting more than a year, down from 3,783 in January - a record high. 414 had been waiting more than two years, up from 343, another record high.
- Tameside Hospital NHS Trust - there were 18,776 people waiting for routine treatment at the end of February, with 38.1 per cent waiting more than 18 weeks. Among those, 874 had been waiting more than a year, down from 898 in January, and 176 had been waiting more than two years, up from 161 - a record high.
- Bolton NHS Trust - there were 31,635 people waiting for routine treatment at the end of February, with 35 per cent waiting more than 18 weeks. Among those, 1,592 had been waiting more than a year, down from 1,659 in January, and 161 had been waiting more than two years, up from 150 - a record high.
- Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust - there were 39,540 people waiting for routine treatment at the end of February, with 41.2 per cent waiting more than 18 weeks. Among those, 1,530 had been waiting more than a year, down from 1,790 in January - a record high. 114 had been waiting more than two years, down from 171.
Dr Chris Brookes, joint interim Greater Manchester medical executive lead for acute care, said: “Health and care workers across Greater Manchester have worked tirelessly to maintain services in the face of the biggest health challenge in living memory. They remain committed to the highest levels of care possible for patients despite continued pressures and we are treating more people now than before the pandemic.
“Our priority, as always, is to provide safe and high-quality care for people in Greater Manchester and to always be there for people who need our help, in emergency, urgent and non-urgent situations. We are committed to treating people as quickly as possible without jeopardising the standard of care the public should expect in our emergency departments (A&E) and elsewhere.
“Hospitals across Greater Manchester – and the rest of the UK – have had to make extremely difficult decisions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including pausing non-urgent operations. We understand how difficult waiting for treatment has been and we are sorry patients have had to endure these waits.
“We fully understand patients are worried and we are grateful for their continued patience and understanding. We are supporting patients by providing information on how to stay as fit and healthy as possible while they wait for treatment, and we continue to identify ways we can increase the number of treatments for patients who have been waiting the longest while balancing the needs of those who need to be seen most urgently.
“In the meantime, remember other NHS services such as NHS 111 – online and over the phone in urgent but not life-threatening cases – and GP practices remain available for use.”
Figures for England revealed record A&E waits and the largest ever number of people waiting for treatment, British Medical Association council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “These latest NHS performance statistics highlight the enormous pressure that the health service is still having to endure as this Easter looks set to be just as bad as some of the worst winters we have ever seen.
“With Covid-19 cases hitting the highest level on record last week in England and resulting hospitalisations placing further demand on services and with almost 200,000 NHS staff absent due to Covid-19 in just one week, these levels of pressure are unprecedented.
“The government said it would prioritise the recovery of the NHS in its Elective Recovery Plan in February and that it would eliminate two year waits for surgery by this July – yet there are still over 23,000 people waiting over 24 months for treatment. Furthermore, the target that no one will wait more than 18 months by April 2023 seems equally unrealistic given that there are more than six million people currently waiting, record high A&E waits, and Covid-19 infections directly impacting on normal NHS services.”
Across England, just 28.4 per cent of people waited more than four hours in A&E from arrival to discharge, up from 26.7 per cent in February, and the worst performance since records began in November 2010. In major A&Es, the percentage was 41.4 per cent.
A record 22,506 people had to wait more than 12 hours from a decision to admit to being admitted to a ward bed. Last month was the busiest at English A&Es since January 2020, with 2.17 million attendances.
The waiting list for routine treatment, such as hip and knee operation, rose to 6.18 million at the end of February, the highest number since records began in August 2007. Of those, 37.4 per cent had been waiting more than 18 weeks.
However, the number facing the longest waits had shrunk slightly, with the number waiting over a year down from 311,528 to 299,478. The number waiting over two years fell from 23,778 to 23,281.
NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said: “Nobody should be under any illusion about how tough a job NHS staff have on their hands, balancing competing priorities and maintaining high quality patient care.
“Despite pressure on various fronts and the busiest winter ever for the NHS, long waits fell as staff continue to tackle two-year waits by July thanks to the innovative approaches to care they are now adopting – from same day hip replacements to dedicated mobile hubs for operations.”
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents health organisations, said the NHS was putting the additional investment from the levy to good use with clear progress being made in tackling the elective care backlog.
He said: “It is good to see progress in these important areas but health leaders still feel the NHS is a very long way from a sustainable and resilient system that is able to meet and manage overall demand from patients for healthcare.”
He highlighted delays with discharging patients who are well enough to go home but where there isn’t the social care support they need in place, the need to keep Covid patients separate and the impact that has on capacity, and staff shortages, both vacancies and numbers off due to Covid.
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