A new report ranks NHS trusts with the highest percentage of their patients waiting over four hours at their accident and emergency departments across Merseyside.
Guidelines say at least 95% of A&E patients should be admitted to hospital, transferred to another provider or discharged within that four hour time limit. However, according to the study, all the NHS trusts responsible for the major emergency departments in Merseyside did not hit the target.
Using NHS data for July, August and September 2023, the research - conducted on behalf of ePower Trucks, who provide electric hospital equipment - calculated the percentage of attendees waiting longer than the four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
Listed below are the five Merseyside NHS Trusts with the highest percentage of patients waiting over four hours at A&E.
*Certain Trusts in the region had no data recorded like Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust so these are not included.
1. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - 38.8%
When it came to the number of attendees, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are in the middle of the pack with 33,203 but the patients who are waiting over four hours is the highest in the region. 38.8% of their attendees waited over the four-hour threshold last year, which is just over 7% more than any other trust in Merseyside. This percentage came to 12,596 people in total, which is an estimated 4,198 per month! The Trust is responsible for Arrowe Park Hospital, Ellesmere Port Hospital, Spire Murrayfield Hospital, St. Catherines Hospital and Victoria Central Hospital. Photo: Tyler Olson - stock.adobe.com
2. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – 31%
Second on the list is Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust which had 31% of their patients waiting over the four-hour threshold. A major aspect of this is that this NHS Trust has the most amount of attendees in Merseyside at 77,808 so far this year. This means a total of 24,150 people waited over four hours, which is an average of 8,050 per month! The Trust runs Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Royal Liverpool University Hospital and Liverpool University Dental Hospital Photo: Peter Byrne
3. Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – 29.4%
Out of the total 73,511 patients in Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust during the second quarter of the year, 29.4% of them were waiting over four hours to get seen. The figure for this Merseyside Trust would be 21,591 patients, which is 7,197 across one month. The Trust runs Whiston Hospital, St Helens Hospital, Newton Hospital, Ormskirk Hospital and Southport & Formby Hospital.
4. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – 13.5%
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has the lowest percentage for the major A&E departments in Merseyside with 13.5% of their 2,024 patients waiting over four hours to be seen in the last three months. This translates to 14,953 patients and an average of 4,984 patients facing prolonged waiting times each month. Photo: PAUL ELLIS