Over a third of patients needing emergency hospital care are having to wait over 12 hours for a bed at one beleaguered NHS trust in the Liverpool City Region (LCR), latest figures show.
Analysis of NHS England data shows one in seven patients (14%) admitted to hospitals nationwide through A&E in December endured waits of over 12 hours, or half a day, for a bed once medics decided they needed to be admitted. They could have been left languishing on trolleys or chairs in corridors while waiting for a bed or operating theatre to become free.
But at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Halton General Hospital in LCR and Warrington Hospital, 37.5% of its 2,535 patients were left facing trolley waits of over 12 hours, which is over two-and-a-half times higher than the national rate.
At Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Aintree University Hospital, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen hospitals, 29.7% of its 4,399 patients waited over half a day for a bed.
Both NHS trusts were in the top 20 in the country for the highest percentage of patient trolley waits over 12 hours.
Nearby East Cheshire NHS Trust (60%) and Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (50.4%) had the worst wait times in the whole of England, according to NHS England data for December.
Wes Streeting, Labour Shadow Health Secretary, said the latest figures show the “terrifying truth is that patients in an emergency can no longer be sure the NHS will be there for them”, while the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned England’s NHS has “no more time for inaction and unfulfilled promises”.
The news comes as thousands of RCN nurses are out on the picket line as they strike over pay and working conditions.
The number of patients left waiting 12 hours or longer in A&E across England was staggeringly high in December, with over 54,500 affected – a 44% rise on November, and a 324% rise on last December. Before September 2021, the figure had never exceeded 5,000.
The figures include all those admitted after attending A&E, whether of their own accord or by ambulance. Not everybody who attends A&E needs to be admitted.
Here’s how the hospital trusts in Liverpool City Region ranked based on the amount of patients who faced 12-hour trolley waits after being admitted at A&E.
But at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Halton General Hospital in LCR and Warrington Hospital, 37.5% of its 2,535 patients were left facing trolley waits of over 12 hours, which is over two-and-a-half times higher than the national rate.
5. St Helens And Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
In December, 0.2% of patients waited over 12 hours in A&E between the decision to admit and their admission - better than the national average. NHS England data shows 8 patients from 4,659 total Emergency Admissions via A&E had to wait more than half a day.
6. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
In December, zero patients waited over 12 hours in A&E between the decision to admit and their admission. NHS England data shows zero patients from 1,273 total Emergency Admissions via A&E had to wait more than half a day.
7. Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust
In December, zero patients waited over 12 hours in A&E between the decision to admit and their admission. NHS England data shows zero patients from 99 total Emergency Admissions via A&E had to wait more than half a day.