Third of A&E patients wait longer than four hours at King’s Mill Hospital

NHS guidance states 95 per cent of patients attending accident and emergency departments should be admitted to hospital, transferred elsewhere or discharged within four hours.

But Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust fell well behind that target in November, when just 66 per cent of the 9,900 attendances at Sutton’s King’s Mill type-one accident and emergency department were dealt with within four hours, according to figures from NHS England.

Type-one departments are those which provide major emergency services – with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – and account for the majority of attendances nationally.

It means 34 per cent of patients attending King's Mill A&E waited longer than four hours to be seen last month, compared with 32 per cent in October.

Including the 5,000 attendances at Newark Hospital’s Urgent Treatment Centre, 75 per cent of A&E patients were seen by the trust within the target time in November.

David Ainsworth, SFH director of strategy and partnerships, said: “Demand for NHS services remains high and our teams are doing all they can to ensure patients can access the treatment they need as quickly as possible.

“Before visiting A&E, we’re asking people to consider whether it is a genuine emergency, as it’s often not the best place for their needs.

“If you need urgent medical attention when it’s not an emergency, please visit 111.nhs.uk to find out what to do next. Alternatively, call 111, or speak to your GP team or local pharmacy for advice.”

The 95 per cent standard has not been met across the NHS in England since July 2015 – and last month, just 69 per cent of A&E attendances were admitted transferred or discharged within four hours, compared with 74 per cent in November 2021 and 84 per cent in November 2020.

Performance was worse in type-one departments, where just 54 per cent of patients were seen within the target time in November.

At SFH in November, there were 97 booked appointments, up from 85 in October, while 901 patients, 6 per cent, waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit, with 111 of those delayed by more than 12 hours.