Live A&E waiting times feature added to Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS website
Patients are now able to check waiting times at three A&E departments online to get an idea of how busy they are.
Rolling updates for three A&Es operated by the organisation are featured on the newly designed Sandwell and West Birmingham (SWB) NHS trust website.
They are for City Hospital Birmingham, the adjacent Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre emergency department, and Sandwell Hospital.
A&E matron Michael Brennan said: "By including this information on our new website we are giving patients the ability to see waiting times within all our A&E departments, so they have a clearer idea of what to expect before they arrive and whilst they are in the department. It also reminds them to consider other options regarding whether it is emergency care they need or if they could be seen at an urgent treatment centre, by their GP or at a pharmacy.
"We aim to triage all patients within 15 minutes of arrival in the department. The waiting times displayed relates to the length of time a patient will wait for treatment or admission. Generally, patients accept there is a wait for treatment after they are assessed, however it is a fact that many could be seen by other services and receive advice or treatment in a shorter time."
Vanya Rogers, head of external communications at SWB NHS Trust, said: "Waiting times in A&E can sometimes be longer than we expect, so in developing our new website to provide the most up-to-date information for patients, we took the opportunity to be as transparent as possible, setting expectations about how long patients might have to wait.
"We want to ensure our patients have the best possible experience when using our website and this is one of many features we included in the specifications.
"The live A&E wait times button is easy to find on the home page, only a click away from where the information is displayed in an easy-to-understand format.
"Once there, patients are able to refresh the page. With each A&E site, users can click a link to view further details about that hospital which includes travel information."
The new website has been designed by Bromsgrove company Platform81 and it’s the first time they have installed this feature on an NHS portal.
People can see the waiting times by visiting the website here.
