The BBC has been doing some interesting research on Accident and Emergency departments in general, which has some relevance to St. peter's A and E, which was the original reason for starting up this Blog.
Way back when, A and E's had a target that they had to keep - 97 % of patients arriving needed to be discharged or admitted to a bed within 4 hours. It was felt this was the best way of measuring an urgent treatment department. Separate figures were kept for patients who waited longer than 4 hours to be dealt with, or longer than 12 hours.
The Conservatives, decided to reduce the target to 95% to be dealt with within 4 hours, to make it easier for the NHS to keep to it's targets.
NHS Trusts which consistently failed to meet the targets would lose money as a penalty, so it wasn't just serious for patients waiting at the hospital.
Last year, as things got worse in the NHS, the government quietly indicated that failure to meet requirements would no longer result in 'fines'.
In fact, over the last twelve months, the targets have been missed even by efficient and well run hospitals, mainly because it's now accepted that most of the NHS is underfunded and unable to manage it's targets.
Now the BBC has discovered that there has been some widespread misuse of 'Drop-in Centre's' to game the statistics.
Lets take, as an example, Ashford and St. Peter's NHS Foundation trust. It runs a traditional Accident and Emergency Department at St. Peter's where patients arrive on foot or in ambulances with problems that range from the trivial to the most serious. Obviously, on arrival they are subject o the collection of statistics leading to the figures that indicate whether the Trust can meet the four hour target.
In fact there is also a 'Drop-in Centre' next to Ashford Hospital. It's not an A and E, ambulances don't call there, it doesn't deal with emergencies.
In fact it's very useful; staffed by nurses you can go there without an appointment and get seen for minor problems. If it turns out to be serious the Nurse can arrange for a transfer to A and E. I went there to have dressings changed and it usually takes about an hour or so. In the past it was attached to a G.P's surgery which was intended by the Blair Labour Government to see people in the evenings and weekends. It's just been closed to save money.
The thing is, the Drop-in centre's statistics go into the figures for Accident and Emergency for the hospital as a whole. Now, no one attending the Drop-in Centre is going there instead of going to A and E - this is non serious problems. The kind of thing that the practice nurse at the Doctors could deal with - but you can be seen without an appointment.
So, in one way the Trust is encouraging people to come in to improve the number of people being seen within 4 hours, because most people attending have quick, simple problems. If you shut the centre, none of the people would be on their way to A and E.
In fact, the BBC has uncovered that not only is this a common practise but some unscrupulous Trusts have been including figures for patients attending Drop-in Centres that have nothing to do with them, in order to massage the A and E to look better.
This 'gaming' of statistics to make them look better is more common in the NHS than you would think - this time there may need to be a recalculation of all last years statistics to find out what the real position was at our A and E's.
The effect of this fixing of the figures makes life harder for patients and easier for over paid NHS managers.
We shouldn't let them off the hook this time.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Showing posts with label Accident and Emergency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accident and Emergency. Show all posts
Monday, 22 January 2018
Thursday, 17 November 2016
Getting slapped down by St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey, Accident and Emergency.
Now I've heard it all - and it takes a lot for me to quote a story from 'The Sun', which is a newspaper I don't have much respect for.
However, this story is too good (bad) to leave out - it relates how a medic at the Accident and Emergency department at St. Peter's Hospital slapped a patient.
If this allegation is correct it's a new low for the Accident and Emergency Department.
As the victim correctly points out, if he'd hit a medic he would have gone straight to jail. We'll see what, if anything, happens now.
You can watch a video of it here;
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2182292/shocking-moment-a-st-peters-hospital-nhs-medic-attacked-patient-he-was-treating-in-ae/
Here's the article if the link doesn't work;
HOSPITAL 'ASSAULT' Shocking moment a St Peter’s hospital NHS medic ‘attacked
patient he was treating in A&E’
The medic 'took his patient hostage', refusing to take the needle out of his arm
until he deleted the video
By BRITTANY VONOW
15th November 2016, 8:03 am
Adam Clark was slapped over the head by a doctor at St Peter's Hospital, Surrey
HOSPITAL ASSAULT
THIS is the shocking moment a NHS medic attacked a patient while carrying out a blood test at a London hospital.
Adam Clark, 38, was filming the blood test when the St Peter’s Hospital staff member aggressively slapped him over the head, grabbing his phone out of his hands.
Sun Exclusive
Adam Clark was having a blood test and recording the procedure when the medic at St Peter’s Hospital slapped him
The shocked bricklayer says he was then “held hostage” by the man, who held the needle in his arm and refused to take it out until the video was deleted.
Mr Clark recounted the attack to The Sun Online, reliving the moment he was assaulted by the man charged with the task of helping him.
He said: “The doctor was taking blood out of my arm at the time, and I started to film it".
Mr Clark, 38, reported the incident to Surrey Police, saying the confrontation was unacceptable. The medic’s slap left the patient feeling shocked and vulnerable
Adam Clark decided to speak out after the Friday night attack
“He snatched the phone out of my hand and then slapped me round the face.
The Shepperton local said he had been filming the blood test to show his boss – to prove he had gone to the hospital after complaining of feeling ill for a number of weeks – but the tests at A&E descended into chaos in a matter of moments.
Mr Clark said: “He ripped the phone out of my hand and he had a hold of the needle and was squeezing it, saying delete it, delete the video.
“I said to him ‘let go’ but he kept squeezing until I deleted it.”
It is understood the staff member was a healthcare assistant but Mr Clark confirmed to the Sun Online that the hospital told him that the man involved was a doctor.
Mr Clark spoke out of his discomfort during the confrontation on Friday night, saying: “I felt really vulnerable in that situation.
“It was horrible.”
He said the medic then told him that it was not permitted to film during a blood test.
Mr Clark said: “If he had of said – ‘you can’t do that’, I would have said ‘OK’ and stopped.
“But it was such an aggressive attack.
“When you’re in a situation where you feel a bit vulnerable anyway, it’s such a shock.”
In the video, the professional can be heard stating “you’re recording” before slapping the patient. Mr Clark deleted the video but later found it in his deleted items folder on his phone.
The medic took issue with the patient recording – but instead of speaking to him about it, he chose to slap him over the head.
Adam Clark has now reported the confrontation to Surrey Police, who are investigating Mr Clark said he was going to let the attack go but then thought twice.
He told The Sun Online: “I thought to myself, if I had of slapped him around the face, I would be in the police station. “I don’t see why he should get away with it.”
He said after the confrontation unfolded, he had spoken with nurses, with the St Peter’s Hospital staff member taken off the hospital premises.
He added that a manager of St Peter’s Hospital had come to speak with him, telling the 38-year-old the hospital was not taking the confrontation lightly.He also rang police, making an official report.
A Surrey Police spokesperson said: “Surrey Police is investigating following a report that a man was assaulted at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey on Friday, November 11 at 7.30pm.“Enquiries are on-going.”
A spokesperson for the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust told The Sun Online: “We are aware that an incident between a patient and a Health Care Assistant, which occurred in our A&E department on Friday 11th November, has been reported to Surrey Police.
“We always take concerns and allegations raised by our patients extremely seriously and have already begun our own internal investigation. At the same time we will, of course, cooperate fully with Surrey Police.
“Until these investigations are completed, we are unable to comment further.”
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Tuesday, 27 September 2016
Concerns about the James Phelan Inquest.
This much delayed inquest has been delayed again - it relates to an incident at St. Peter's Accident and Emergency in August 2014.
Part of the reason for the delay is that witness statements hadn't been taken - presumably the hospital didn't realise there was a problem.
Not taking statements mean the honest people forget what happened and dishonest people have a chance to get their stories straight.
To put it simple, Mr Phelan went to A and E suffering from alcohol withdrawal - it's very dangerous and often life threatening.
He was seen (probably after a long wait) and triaged. That means his problem was evaluated and he was admitted, then left to wait.
At some point he left before he was treated - and not found for a week! By which time his body was discovered on the dual carriageway outside the hospital.
Here's the report from 'Get Surrey';
Family of missing man found dead near St Peter's Hospital suggest 'systemic failings' at A&E
I can't say I'm happy about the attitude of the Coroner - I'll probably have more to say about that when we have the final report of the inquest.
In particular I'm very concerned about his statement that; “We may not be in a place of systemic failings".
I actually think there are systematic problems about how vulnerable people are treated, because on May 16th this year Jack Barker (a patient at St. Peter's) also disappeared from the same hospital and was only found 2 weeks later on May 31st.
Luckily he was still alive.
And to say; “This court is not a place to engage in an exercise seeking to improve the National Health Service.”
is very worrying because when someone dies as a result of problems at an NHS Hospital there is no other way of holding the hospital trust to account.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Part of the reason for the delay is that witness statements hadn't been taken - presumably the hospital didn't realise there was a problem.
Not taking statements mean the honest people forget what happened and dishonest people have a chance to get their stories straight.
To put it simple, Mr Phelan went to A and E suffering from alcohol withdrawal - it's very dangerous and often life threatening.
He was seen (probably after a long wait) and triaged. That means his problem was evaluated and he was admitted, then left to wait.
At some point he left before he was treated - and not found for a week! By which time his body was discovered on the dual carriageway outside the hospital.
Here's the report from 'Get Surrey';
Family of missing man found dead near St Peter's Hospital suggest 'systemic failings' at A&E
By Charlotte Tobitt
James Phelan was found dead near the hospital seven days after seeing a doctor in A&E when suffering from acute alcohol withdrawal
The family of a Walton man who was found dead seven days after going missing from St Peter’s Hospital has suggested there are "systemic failings" in how patients are assessed when they first attend A&E.
James Phelan was suffering acute alcohol withdrawal when he visited A&E at the Chertsey hospital on Friday August 8 2014.
After being taken to hospital by ambulance, Mr Phelan had been seen by a triage nurse and was waiting to be seen by a doctor before deciding to discharge himself. He was found dead nearby seven days later.
A pre-inquest review was held at Woking Coroner’s Court on Monday (September 19) where Rachael Marcus, representing Mr Phelan’s family, insisted the inquest into his death should investigate systemic failings into the triage system at St Peter’s Hospital.
The court heard Mr Phelan had been triaged as an unwell adult rather than under a mental health category, despite acute alcohol withdrawal being a crossover mental and physical complaint.
Ms Marcus told the court acute alcohol withdrawal is a "widespread issue" but that the Manchester triage system employed by the hospital is inadequate in these cases.
“The triage system in place at this trust was not adequate to deal with the situation in which Mr Phelan found himself,” Ms Marcus added.
“There is a potential for a systems issue in place, whether at this particular trust or whether it is a nationwide problem.”
The court heard St Peter’s Hospital has now produced a draft policy for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal and alcohol dependency which was not in place at the time of Mr Phelan’s admittance.
Ms Marcus questioned whether Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was "behind in its thinking according to what was accepted thinking in 2014
However coroner Darren Stewart said: “We may not be in a place of systemic failings.”
He added: “He [Mr Phelan] may just not have been triaged properly as opposed to the triage system itself being a problem.”
Mr Stewart also said it was a busy night for the hospital and Mr Phelan may not have been seen any quicker even if he was triaged differently.
Ms Marcus had also appealed to Mr Stewart for the process to be treated as an "article two inquest", which is given in circumstances where the state or "its agents" have "failed to protect the deceased against a human threat or other risk".
But Mr Stewart said on Monday: “This court is not a place to engage in an exercise seeking to improve the National Health Service.”
He added that if the court found systemic failings had contributed to Mr Phelan’s death, the inquiry could then be expanded and he would keep open the possibility of engaging article two.
A full inquest into Mr Phelan’s death is due to be heard later this year.
James Phelan was suffering acute alcohol withdrawal when he visited A&E at the Chertsey hospital on Friday August 8 2014.
After being taken to hospital by ambulance, Mr Phelan had been seen by a triage nurse and was waiting to be seen by a doctor before deciding to discharge himself. He was found dead nearby seven days later.
A pre-inquest review was held at Woking Coroner’s Court on Monday (September 19) where Rachael Marcus, representing Mr Phelan’s family, insisted the inquest into his death should investigate systemic failings into the triage system at St Peter’s Hospital.
The court heard Mr Phelan had been triaged as an unwell adult rather than under a mental health category, despite acute alcohol withdrawal being a crossover mental and physical complaint.
Ms Marcus told the court acute alcohol withdrawal is a "widespread issue" but that the Manchester triage system employed by the hospital is inadequate in these cases.
“The triage system in place at this trust was not adequate to deal with the situation in which Mr Phelan found himself,” Ms Marcus added.
“There is a potential for a systems issue in place, whether at this particular trust or whether it is a nationwide problem.”
The court heard St Peter’s Hospital has now produced a draft policy for the treatment of alcohol withdrawal and alcohol dependency which was not in place at the time of Mr Phelan’s admittance.
Ms Marcus questioned whether Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was "behind in its thinking according to what was accepted thinking in 2014
However coroner Darren Stewart said: “We may not be in a place of systemic failings.”
He added: “He [Mr Phelan] may just not have been triaged properly as opposed to the triage system itself being a problem.”
Mr Stewart also said it was a busy night for the hospital and Mr Phelan may not have been seen any quicker even if he was triaged differently.
Ms Marcus had also appealed to Mr Stewart for the process to be treated as an "article two inquest", which is given in circumstances where the state or "its agents" have "failed to protect the deceased against a human threat or other risk".
But Mr Stewart said on Monday: “This court is not a place to engage in an exercise seeking to improve the National Health Service.”
He added that if the court found systemic failings had contributed to Mr Phelan’s death, the inquiry could then be expanded and he would keep open the possibility of engaging article two.
A full inquest into Mr Phelan’s death is due to be heard later this year.
I can't say I'm happy about the attitude of the Coroner - I'll probably have more to say about that when we have the final report of the inquest.
In particular I'm very concerned about his statement that; “We may not be in a place of systemic failings".
I actually think there are systematic problems about how vulnerable people are treated, because on May 16th this year Jack Barker (a patient at St. Peter's) also disappeared from the same hospital and was only found 2 weeks later on May 31st.
Luckily he was still alive.
And to say; “This court is not a place to engage in an exercise seeking to improve the National Health Service.”
is very worrying because when someone dies as a result of problems at an NHS Hospital there is no other way of holding the hospital trust to account.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Monday, 28 December 2015
The Ankle Rankle.
I had an unexpected present this Christmas - my solicitor Anna Brothers sent me a copy of my medical file, which was very nice of her.
I hadn't applied for it myself because I didn't trust the Hospital - they'd already 'lost' the recording of my meeting with the head of Accident and Emergency.
I waited for the hospital to release the records to my lawyers.
So it's been a long time.
Here's my latest selfie;
As you can see, the bone on the left is broken and also twisted, which is a dislocation.
When I went back to hospital a week later I didn't believe the consultant who told me it was broken - I was told it was a sprain.
To shut me up he just showed me this X-ray, it was that obvious.
Now the question is whether the A and E consultant hadn't spotted this very obvious break or whether he did and just didn't want to put together the team needed to do the operation on a bank holiday.
I think he just couldn't be bothered - he thought I'd get an appointment the next day and the operation would happen then.
That didn't happen because there wasn't an appointment slot free for a week.
Now my problem with all this was that he had been employed as a highly paid 'consultant' for 9 months and if he couldn't spot a broken ankle by then he was never going to spot one.
Worse, the hospital hid what happened from me - it was only three months later that I was told the doctor had been a consultant.
A year later, after some detective work, I found out that he'd been allowed to go on practising for another three months until his contract ran out.
Then, they didn't renew it.
What else didn't he spot in that time?
Just for old times sake, I can't resist reprinting the poem I wrote to explain what happened;
The Ankle Rankle.
I couldn't let a whole year go past without printing that again now could I?
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
I hadn't applied for it myself because I didn't trust the Hospital - they'd already 'lost' the recording of my meeting with the head of Accident and Emergency.
I waited for the hospital to release the records to my lawyers.
So it's been a long time.
Here's my latest selfie;
As you can see, the bone on the left is broken and also twisted, which is a dislocation.
When I went back to hospital a week later I didn't believe the consultant who told me it was broken - I was told it was a sprain.
To shut me up he just showed me this X-ray, it was that obvious.
Now the question is whether the A and E consultant hadn't spotted this very obvious break or whether he did and just didn't want to put together the team needed to do the operation on a bank holiday.
I think he just couldn't be bothered - he thought I'd get an appointment the next day and the operation would happen then.
That didn't happen because there wasn't an appointment slot free for a week.
Now my problem with all this was that he had been employed as a highly paid 'consultant' for 9 months and if he couldn't spot a broken ankle by then he was never going to spot one.
Worse, the hospital hid what happened from me - it was only three months later that I was told the doctor had been a consultant.
A year later, after some detective work, I found out that he'd been allowed to go on practising for another three months until his contract ran out.
Then, they didn't renew it.
What else didn't he spot in that time?
Just for old times sake, I can't resist reprinting the poem I wrote to explain what happened;
The Ankle Rankle.
I’ve got a problem
and it’s really starting to rankle.
You see, I hurt my leg
in fact, I broke my ankle.
The problem was my mistake
Oh what would that be?
The ambulance took my break
to St. Peter’s A and E.
Because instead of trying
to fix it there and then.
Some idiot, what was he was doing?
Sent me home again.
You can mess up a finger
You can bugger up a wrist
but only a consultant at St. Peter’s
would
think a break was a twistI couldn't let a whole year go past without printing that again now could I?
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Sunday, 22 February 2015
A missed Sepsis; a lost life at St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey.
It is so very depressing; I started this Blog two years ago
because when I was taken by ambulance to the Accident and Emergency department at
St. Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey I was unlucky; the consultant on duty was
incompetent and I was sent home with a displaced, fractured ankle for a week.
I wanted to prevent more serious things happening to other
people – there was clearly something desperately wrong with the A and E. if they couldn't spot an obviously broken ankle - what else were they missing?
My experience of the complaints procedure told me that
nothing was going to be done.
But I’ve got cancer – there are other things I need to be
doing and at times I’ve was diverted from this or I was just too ill to campaign
enough.
I should have done more.
This story from yesterday’s “Your Local Guardian” deals with
an unnecessary death in 2012 which occurred just 8
months before I was messed about.
Why has it taken so long? part of the problem is that we never actually hear what is going wrong until it's far too late.
Was it the same person who messed me up?
Why has it taken so long? part of the problem is that we never actually hear what is going wrong until it's far too late.
Was it the same person who messed me up?
It’s time for that public enquiry I’ve been demanding;
From Your
Local Guardian
Fight for
life damaged by Ashford and St Peter's failure to spot sepsis
St Peters:
Did not give antibiotics until four hours after admittance to
Hospital.
First
published Friday 20 February 2015
by Ellie Cambridge, Reporter - Elm bridge
An
investigation into a man’s death found the care he was given at Ashford and St
Peter’s Hospital reduced his chances of survival from sepsis.
The
77-year-old was admitted in January 2012 with severe health problems and the severity
of his condition was not spotted from more than two hours, until he was seen by
a doctor, who suspected he might have sepsis.
Antibiotics
were not started until four hours after he was admitted, the Parliamentary and
Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found.
The
investigation by PHSO said the care the man received during the first stage of
admission did not meet the expected standard and reduced his chances of recovery.
Julie
Mellor, PHSO, said: "Sepsis is a treatable condition, but too many people are
dying unnecessarily from it because NHS services are failing to spot the warning
signs."
The trust
paid his daughter £1,200 in compensation for the distress and to acknowledge
and apologise for the failings.
His
daughter said: "My father went into hospital with sepsis and never
returned home again. Nothing in this world can replace him and all the family
are devastated by such a loss."
Suzanne
Rankin, chief executive at Ashford & St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
said: "Firstly I would like to offer my personal condolences to this individual
family on their loss and I absolutely recognise the devastating impact the
passing of a loved one has, particularly in these circumstances.
"Sepsis
is a condition that requires urgent treatment and it’s clear that, whilst much
of the care given in this case was good, we failed to recognise those early,
critical symptoms.
"As
indicated by the ombudsman, like many other hospitals we acknowledge that we
haven’t been managing sepsis as well as we could and we are fully committed to improving
the way we diagnose and treat this critical condition."
Some of the most recent unnecessary deaths are recorded in
the “Pages” section on the right hand side of my Blog.
Neil Harris
(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
Friday, 30 January 2015
The 2015 winter waiting crisis at St. Peter's; as it happened.
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Yet another waiting times crisis at St. Peter's Accident and Emergency.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise – St. Peter’s Accident and Emergency had to announce a ‘Major Emergency’ on 5th January 2015.
It shouldn’t be a surprise because demand for A and E rises every winter, there is an epdemic of a ‘Killer Flu’ that isn’t stopped by flu injections this year and most importantly….they weren’t keeping to the 4 hour waiting time limit in the summer.
The result? cancelled planned operations which can be catastrophic for the people concerned.
The problem? Too many staff cutbacks which means not enough general wards in winter so people in A and E can't be moved out quickly enough.
The result? cancelled planned operations which can be catastrophic for the people concerned.
The problem? Too many staff cutbacks which means not enough general wards in winter so people in A and E can't be moved out quickly enough.
Ashford and St Peter's emergency to last at least 24 hours (From Surrey Comet)
First published Tuesday 6 January 2015 in News
by Ellie Cambridge, Reporter
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has struggled to keep up with the demand this week, declaring a major incident that is likely to last for at least the next 24 hours and warning people to stay away from accident and emergency unless it is a real emergency.
This comes as data for England was published today by the NHS for the week ending December 28. Christmas is traditionally a busy time for hospitals and this data showed the trust had not met the Government target of seeing 95 per cent of admissions to A&E in four hours, having seen 85.6 per cent in four hours.
The number of patients spending between four and 12 hours waiting to be admittedin that week were 88.
Country-wide figures showed A&E departments had flagged under huge demand, seeing the worst national performance for 10 years.
A spokesman for the trust said: “Declaring a major incident (which we did at the weekend) allows us to mobilise additional staff and take a more targeted approach in how we manage outpatient clinics and planned operations and this is
resulting in an improving situation [today January 6] within our hospitals.”
An urgent message issued by the trust yesterday continued today as it faced “unprecedented demand” and needs to prioritise their most urgent patients.
In a statement online, it said: “We are currently under severe pressure - please don’t come to A&E unless you are a real emergency.
“Non-emergency patients are likely to have an extremely long wait and will be taking staff away from caring for patients who need emergency or lifesaving care.” Some appointments were cancelled on January 5 with patients affected called and informed.
No appointments were cancelled today.
Chief executive Suzanne Rankin said: “We expect to remain at major incident status for at least the next 24 hours to allow the actions we are taking to take full effect.
“I would like to praise and thank colleagues in the hospital who have been working extremely hard on behalf of patients to meet this demand.”
Other trusts throughout the country have faced similar difficulties, with hospitals in north Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Gloucestershire struggling to cope with the demand and declaring a major incident.
Monday, 12 January 2015
Ashford and St. Peter's Accident and Emergency - tenth worst waiting times in the country?
I haven’t been so well recently so when the NHS figures for Accident and Emergency waiting times came out I wasn’t really up to analysing them the way I used to.
However, this last quarter has produced the worst NHS waiting times for 10 years – even though the Tories reduced the requirement from 97% of patients to be dealt with within 4 hours under labour to only 95% now.
Then again, inside the national figures are some real local problems and here we have one of the worst performances in the country.
Here are the 10 worst performing trusts – out of 140 of them;
10 worst performing hospitals for A&E waiting times - ITV News
ITV Report
6 January 2015 at 1:53pm
10 worst performing hospitals for A&E waiting times
NHS England announced A&E departments have the worst waiting times for 10 years.
See which hospitals performed worst:
Worst; Cambridge University Hospital Trust: 75.2%
2nd Worst; Medway NHS Foundation Trust: 79%
3rd worst; Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital Trust: 80.5%
4th Worst; University Hospitals Of North Midlands NHS Trust: 80.6%
5th Worst; Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust: 81.7%
6th Worst; North Bristol NHS Trust: 82.7%
7th Worst; Colchester Hospital NHS Trust/Brighton and Sussex NHS Trust: 83.4%
8th Worst; Peterborough and Stamford Hospital NHS Trust - 83.7%
9th Worst University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust - 84%
10th Worst; Ashford and St Peters Hospital NHS Trust - 84.6%
I’m grateful that ITV did the work for me because it is important to see that Ashford and St. Peter’s is the 10th worst A and E in the country – not least because they sent me home for a week with a broken ankle.
But I wasn’t happy with those figures. In the past (it’s on my ‘Pages’ column to be found on the right hand side of this Blog) I’ve shown how the figures have been distorted by Ashford and St. Peters.
Here are the figures to be found in The Guardian newspapers ‘Data pages’;
Major A and E All A and E % Type 1 seen in All A and E
attendances Type 1 4 hours or less seen in 4 hours or less
1992 2248 71-80% 75.0%
According to these figures the trust’s Accident and Emergency department is up there (or down there, I suppose) with the very worst.
Only 75% were seen within the statutory requirement of 4 hours – or only 71% of the really serious cases.
That’s appalling. How do they do it?
The national NHS figures include the Ashford Walk-in centre which sees patients who would never go to A and E and can be dealt with really quickly. So, when I needed my dressing changed I went to see a nurse there - no A and E would have seen me for that.
Oh dear, I suppose I may have to take a closer look at these terrible figures one of these days.
I haven’t been so well recently so when the NHS figures for Accident and Emergency waiting times came out I wasn’t really up to analysing them the way I used to.
However, this last quarter has produced the worst NHS waiting times for 10 years – even though the Tories reduced the requirement from 97% of patients to be dealt with within 4 hours under labour to only 95% now.
Then again, inside the national figures are some real local problems and here we have one of the worst performances in the country.
Here are the 10 worst performing trusts – out of 140 of them;
Here are the 10 worst performing trusts – out of 140 of them;
10 worst performing hospitals for A&E waiting times - ITV News
ITV Report
6 January 2015 at 1:53pm
10 worst performing hospitals for A&E waiting times
NHS England announced A&E departments have the worst waiting times for 10 years.
See which hospitals performed worst:
Worst; Cambridge University Hospital Trust: 75.2%
2nd Worst; Medway NHS Foundation Trust: 79%
3rd worst; Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospital Trust: 80.5%
4th Worst; University Hospitals Of North Midlands NHS Trust: 80.6%
5th Worst; Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust: 81.7%
6th Worst; North Bristol NHS Trust: 82.7%
7th Worst; Colchester Hospital NHS Trust/Brighton and Sussex NHS Trust: 83.4%
8th Worst; Peterborough and Stamford Hospital NHS Trust - 83.7%
9th Worst University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust - 84%
10th Worst; Ashford and St Peters Hospital NHS Trust - 84.6%
I’m grateful that ITV did the work for me because it is important to see that Ashford and St. Peter’s is the 10th worst A and E in the country – not least because they sent me home for a week with a broken ankle.
But I wasn’t happy with those figures. In the past (it’s on my ‘Pages’ column to be found on the right hand side of this Blog) I’ve shown how the figures have been distorted by Ashford and St. Peters.
Here are the figures to be found in The Guardian newspapers ‘Data pages’;
Major A and E All A and E % Type 1 seen in All A and E
attendances Type 1 4 hours or less seen in 4 hours or less
1992 2248 71-80% 75.0%
According to these figures the trust’s Accident and Emergency department is up there (or down there, I suppose) with the very worst.
Only 75% were seen within the statutory requirement of 4 hours – or only 71% of the really serious cases.
That’s appalling. How do they do it?
The national NHS figures include the Ashford Walk-in centre which sees patients who would never go to A and E and can be dealt with really quickly. So, when I needed my dressing changed I went to see a nurse there - no A and E would have seen me for that.
Oh dear, I suppose I may have to take a closer look at these terrible figures one of these days.
Accident and Emergency at St. Peter's Hospital, Chertsey - Week ending 4th January 2015 figures.
OK, so I finally got my act together and downloaded the NHS England figures for patients waiting times at Accident and Emergency. This is were the rules state that from arrival at hospital, you should wait no longer than 4 hours to be either admitted or discharged.
Hospitals have to provide figures because they are required to keep to a maximum wait of 4 hours (think about it – that’s a long time).
Anyway here are the figures for Ashford and St. Peters Accident and Emergency for week ending 4th January 2015. There now appears to be a separate listing for the Ashford Walk in Centre, so this is just A and E.
During that week, the A and E at St. Peter’s saw 1830 patients of whom 1605 were the most serious Type 1 while 225 were minor injuries classed as Type 3.
Of the Type 3 minor injuries only 72-2% were seen within the 4 hours limit.
Much more seriously, of the Type 1 serious injuries only 68-2% were seen in less than 4 hours.
The national requirement is 95% reduced from 97% under the last Labour government.
They are poor figures but when you look at the other 140 trusts – The type 1 serious injury waiting times for St. Peter's are joint 13th worst in the country while for Type 3 injuries they are 11th worst.
One week, of course, can be a blip.
Except that I’ve been following this story for a while now (well over a year) and if I was able to spot it back then there is no reason Ashford and St. Peter’s NHS Trust should have been able to do something about it by now.
OK, so I finally got my act together and downloaded the NHS England figures for patients waiting times at Accident and Emergency. This is were the rules state that from arrival at hospital, you should wait no longer than 4 hours to be either admitted or discharged.
Hospitals have to provide figures because they are required to keep to a maximum wait of 4 hours (think about it – that’s a long time).
Anyway here are the figures for Ashford and St. Peters Accident and Emergency for week ending 4th January 2015. There now appears to be a separate listing for the Ashford Walk in Centre, so this is just A and E.
During that week, the A and E at St. Peter’s saw 1830 patients of whom 1605 were the most serious Type 1 while 225 were minor injuries classed as Type 3.
Of the Type 3 minor injuries only 72-2% were seen within the 4 hours limit.
Much more seriously, of the Type 1 serious injuries only 68-2% were seen in less than 4 hours.
The national requirement is 95% reduced from 97% under the last Labour government.
They are poor figures but when you look at the other 140 trusts – The type 1 serious injury waiting times for St. Peter's are joint 13th worst in the country while for Type 3 injuries they are 11th worst.
One week, of course, can be a blip.
Except that I’ve been following this story for a while now (well over a year) and if I was able to spot it back then there is no reason Ashford and St. Peter’s NHS Trust should have been able to do something about it by now.
Sunday, 18 January 2015
The waiting time crisis at St.Peter's Hospital, Chertsey continues.
The latest figures for waiting times atg Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals are now out covering for week ending 11th January 2015.
It is probably no surprise that despite a slight improvement, the figures are still far below the Government’s requirement that 95% of patients at Accident and Emergency departments are admitted or discharged within 4 hours.
There were 1852 patients seen at St. Peter’s but only 78.9% of the most serious cases were seen with in 4 hours while for all cases (including less serious ones) only 82.1% were seen within the time limit.
Why is this happening?
Not enough staff, inadequate organisation and triage and the perennial problem that there aren’t enough beds (because there aren’t enough nurses) so that admissions can’t be taken out of A and E and into beds for treatment quickly enough.
Just waiting for the Flu season and the cold weather to end isn’t good enough.
Still watching - the latest waiting times figures are out. 25th January 2015
I’m still watching the waiting time statistics for the Accident and Emergency department at St. Peter’s hospital, Chertsey.
Like many other A and E’s, they have been missing their targets over this tough winter.
Except that at Christmas St. Peter's had to declare an emergency and bring in some fairly drastic measures to try to deal with the problem.
And it was already going on for much of 2014, as I’ve been recording on this Blog.
The government target is that 95% of patients should be seen and admitted or discharged in less than 4 hours.
The figures for week ending 18th January 2015 are now out.
Ashford and St. Peter’s are still missing their target;
Only 93.8% of patients were seen within the time limit while of the most serious cases only 92.8% were seen in time.
It doesn’t make pretty reading and the bare statistics hide the very human situation that people are hanging about in fear and pain instead of being seen when they should have been.
It also hides another story – in order to try to reduce waiting times, planned operations will have been cancelled to free up beds.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Contact me: neilwithpromizsestokeep@gmail.com
Monday, 26 January 2015
Still watching - the latest waiting times figures are out.
I’m still watching the waiting time statistics for the
Accident and Emergency department at St. Peter’s hospital, Chertsey.
Like many other A and E’s, they have been missing their
targets over this tough winter.
Except that at Christmas St. Peter's had to declare an emergency and bring in some
fairly drastic measures to try to deal with the problem.
And it was already going on for much of 2014, as I’ve been
recording on this Blog.
The government target is that 95% of patients should be seen
and admitted or discharged in less than 4 hours.
The figures for week ending 18th January 2015 are
now out.
Ashford and St. Peter’s are still missing their target;
Only 93.8% of patients were seen within the time limit while
of the most serious cases only 92.8% were seen in time.
It doesn’t make pretty reading and the bare statistics hide
the very human situation that people are hanging about in fear and pain instead
of being seen when they should have been.
It also hides another story – in order to try to reduce
waiting times, planned operations will have been cancelled to free up beds.
Perhaps I should start researching those figures too?
Yup!
Neil Harris
(a don’t stop till you drop production)
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
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