An investigation is being carried out by the East Lancashire Hospitals Trust Board of Directors after recent data revealed hundreds of patients were left waiting hours, sometimes days, for a hospital bed.
A report published in May detailed how there had been 809 reported breaches of the '12 hour trolley waiting time' at hospitals within East Lancashire Hospitals Trust (ELHT) during the month of March - with some patients waiting almost three days before a suitable place on a ward could be found for them.
The figures have since improved, with the board papers being discussed today revealing that during May - the most up-to-date available figures - the number of breached had dropped to 487.
Of these 458 were for physical health and 29 were for mental health admissions.
Numbers had shot up in March and April, when ELHT saw a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 patients in hospital, and were a large rise the previous three months.
While numbers have since fallen they are still way above the figures from the beginning of the year and in 2021.
The '12 hour trolley wait time' breaches are concerned with the time spent waiting for a bed/place on a ward after a decision to admit someone has been made.
The report, dated from May 11, revealed on average, out of the 11 mental health breaches, patients were waiting for a bed for 31 hours and 27 minutes.
Shockingly, the longest wait a patient experienced out of the 11 mental health breaches was 67 hours and 24 minutes - which equates to almost three days.
By May the average wait time had improved slightly to 28 hours 44 minutes - but was still a wait of more than day - but the longest wait was even longer than March, at 68 hours 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, of the 798 breaches in physical health cases, patients were waiting to be admitted to a ward or given a bed, on average, 17 hours and 47 minutes.
The longest a patient had to wait for a bed in terms of their physical health was 51 hours and nine minutes.
The picture had improved by May but was still way higher than normal
By May the average wait had dropped by two hours two minutes, and the longest wait almost halved, to 26 hours nine minutes.
The report from both meetings said the figures were "higher than the normal range", and said: "Rapid review timelines are completed in accordance with the NHS England Framework for all breaches and a root cause analysis will be undertaken."
A further board meeting is being held on Wednesday, July 13, to discuss the breaches and decide on suitable action.
ELHT have been contacted for a statement.
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here
© 2001-2022. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. A Gannett Company. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP10 9TY. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |
Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event.
As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.
Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.
These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.
It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.