NHS England: Only one Merseyside hospital trust hitting A&E wait time targets - official figures revealed

Trusts across England are failing to meet targets and that is echoed across the Liverpool City Region.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Six in every seven hospital trusts in England are failing to meet A&E waiting time targets, new figures for January show.

The standard target is for 95% of patients to be admitted to hospital, transferred to another provider or discharged within four hours, but this was missed at 114 trusts (86%) last month.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The average performance across England was for just 72.4% of patients to be seen within this time, which was an improvement on the 65% seen in December but still one of the poorest performances on record.

NHS bodies across England are in the midst their toughest winter yet, as well as nurse and ambulance worker strikes, but how are Merseyside A&E departments coping?

In December 2022, no Trusts in Merseyside were above the waiting time target, despite Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust both achieving the target in November.

However, in January, one Trust did beat the target and there was significant improvement at some Trusts, with five above the national average.

Merseyside A&E waiting times (January 2023)

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

(Percentage of attendances where wait is 4 hours or less (target is 95%) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge)

  1. Wirral Community Health And Care NHS Foundation Trust: 96.1%
  2. Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: 93.7%
  3. Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust: 88.1%
  4. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust: 76.3%
  5. Southport And Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust: 75.9%
  6. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: 68.6%
  7. St Helens And Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: 66.1%
  8. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: 65.7%
  9. Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust: 59.4%

Merseyside A&E waiting times (December 2022 - for comparison)

(Percentage of attendances where wait is 4 hours or less (target is 95%) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge)

  1. Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust: 93.8%
  2. Wirral Community Health And Care NHS Foundation Trust: 92.5%
  3. Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust: 88.2%
  4. Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: 82.3%
  5. Southport And Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust: 70.72%
  6. Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: 64.0%
  7. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: 61.9%
  8. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust: 59.7%
  9. St Helens And Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust: 52.9%

NHS National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said:

“Today’s figures show that despite ongoing pressures across the health service, including industrial action, NHS staff are continuing to work flat-out to deliver the best care for patients, with ambulance response times improving last month as the NHS continued to progress on its winter plan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Separate figures also show the number of people in hospitals with norovirus has jumped significantly, which is a reminder that while flu cases continue to go down other viruses are still a very real concern, and often means additional unoccupied beds need to be closed to prevent the virus spreading to other patients, putting more pressure on bed capacity.

“And while strike action inevitably impacted on progress on the waiting list backlog, the NHS is making good progress toward virtually eliminating 18-month waits by April.

“So as ever it is vital that people do not put off seeking care and come forward for treatment – using 111 online for non-life threatening care, as well as local pharmacies or general practice, or dialling 999 in a life-threatening emergency.”