Hereford's A&E waiting times second-worst in the country in January

Data from NHS England revealed that Wye Valley NHS Trust, which is responsible for A&E in Hereford, had the second highest percentage of people waiting more than four hours to be seen in the first month of this year.

The operational standard for A&E waiting times is that 95 per cent of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of their arrival at an A&E department.

But, the January figures revealed, 53.5 per cent of patients attending A&E in Herefordshire waited four hours or less from arrival.

January waiting times

A total of 5,165 A&E attendances were recorded at the trust that month, with the figures showing that 2,761 waited less than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer, or discharge, while 2,404 waited more than four hours.

The figures mean that the trust was the second-worst performing for A&E waits in the country, with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust taking the top spot.

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The figures for Wye Vallley NHS Trust in January were an improvement on the trust's figures for December, when just 44.3 per cent of attendees were admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hours of arrival.

December waiting times

Data from NHS England shows the trust was the third-worst rated for waits of more than four hours that month, behind Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Wye Valley NHS Trust saw 6,015 A&E attendances in December, with 2,663 admitted, transferred, or discharged in four hours or less, and 3,352 waiting for more than four hours.

But the trust has spoken out over the figures in a statement today (January 14).

READ MORE: Herefordshire's NHS trust speaks out over A&E waiting times

Wye Valley NHS Trust has repeatedly warned of winter pressures on its hospitals this winter, with the trust publicly calling on staff who were on annual leave or not on shift, to pick up extra shifts in January.

The trust made a similar call on New Year's Eve, while chief nursing officer Lucy Flanagan, said earlier this year that people should consider alternatives including GPs, pharmacies and NHS 111 if it was not a medical emergency, as the department was “very busy with increased attendances and emergency patient admissions”.

An online waiting times tracker on the trust website showed in early January that patients could be waiting up to 12 hours to see a doctor at the accident and emergency department (A&E).

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