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38 per cent of those visiting A&E waited more than 4 hours
17/08/2022
Labour leader says unacceptable hospital waits will mean Banbury people could fall through the cracks
5,596 people had to wait more than four hours for emergency care at Oxford University Hospital’s A&E departments during the last month. That’s over one-third (38%) of those needing to visit A&E.
In figures from the NHS, which have been analysed by Banbury Labour, 3 people were shown as having to wait more than 12 hours.
The NHS says that 95% of patients should be admitted, transferred, or discharged within 4 hours.
Councillor Sean Woodcock, Leader of the Labour group on Cherwell District Council, said: “Patients in Oxfordshire in need of emergency medical attention are forced to wait far too long to be seen, left for hours often in serious pain.
“Yet with the pressure on GPs services, more and more people are turning up at A&E, exacerbating the problem.
“Unacceptable waits will mean people in Banbury could fall through the cracks.”
The target four-hour standard in A&E departments was introduced by the Labour government in the early 2000s. Initially it aimed at 98 per cent of patients being seen within that time. This was reduced to 95 per cent in 2010.
Earlier this year NHS England proposed moving from a zero tolerance approach to waits over 12 hours to allowing a 2% tolerance.
Councillor Woodcock said: “The Conservative Government’s response to the crisis in A&E is to scrap the zero tolerance for 12 hour waits. At the same time as they are putting up taxes on working people, they are lowering standards for patients. We’re paying more but waiting longer.
“Our NHS is crying out for a change in government to give us the fresh start we need.
As of June 2022 there were 6.73 million people on the NHS waiting list in England. At the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, following what Banbury Labour call “a decade of Tory mismanagement”, there were 4.4 million people on the NHS waiting list in England.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam