Sandwell and City hospitals leave 120 patients with more than four-hour A&E wait
More than 120 patients a day have been waiting more than four hours in A&E at Sandwell and City hospitals - as the emergency department performance 'sharply deteriorated' during December.
Fewer than one in five patients - 78 per cent - were seen within four hours, way below the national NHS target of 95 per cent.
It is a huge blow for health chiefs who had targeted reaching the 95 per cent standard by January 2018.
The figures were revealed in the January board papers for Sandwell General and City Hospital, Birmingham.
It is stated: "Emergency Department performance has sharply deteriorated to 78 per cent month to date, equating to a daily average of 127 patients waiting over 4 hour for admission or discharge compared to our goal of 57.
"63 per cent of breaches are out of hours.
"Regionally and nationally we have been an outlier at times in month and must improve. We have 48 additional beds open as of the 27th December.
"The improvement approach remains centred on our ED and Patient Flow improvement plans.
"The recommendation remains that we persevere with the improvement plans as designed ensuring no further slippage with CEO review mid-January."
Councillor Bob Lloyd, who is part of Sandwell Council's Health Scrutiny Board, said that A&E takes the brunt of pressure.
He said: "The investment in the NHS is falling all the time so I do feel sympathy for the hospital management.
"If you look back 10 years ago then waiting times were way below. There is pressure as it is and then the A&E takes the brunt of it. People end up going there because the cuts to the other services.
"It comes down to investment and we are suffering, I don't think there is an easy fix to it but it is something the trust needs to focus on to get it down."
It comes as it was revealed in November that patients would be sent to GPs directly from Sandwell Hospital’s A&E in a bid to ease pressure on staff this winter.
From last month, A&E staff were able to decide whether patients would be better off being seen by a GP instead.
The patients would be booked in with an available GP practice or walk-in centre somewhere in the Sandwell borough and the results passed to their GP.
It is hoped the move will have a major impact in reducing patients numbers at the A&E.
The amount of patients who return to hospital after being sent to a GP will then be monitored to judge what impact it has.
