Hundreds waiting over 12 hours in Rotherham’s A&E

MORE than 400 patients waited over 12 hours in A&E during December, new figures have revealed.

This was more than double the 194 people who suffered similar delays in November, hospital papers revealed.

Another eight patients endured a long wait on a trolley for the same amount of time in December. 

The numbers went before board members in the week chief executive Louise Barnett and deputy Chris Preston leave Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust.

The trust said the stats were down to bed waits, caused by complex cases being treated throughout the organisation and an influx of influenza towards the end of the year.

George Briggs, chief operating officer, said: “Nationally, the position for all emergency care patients has deteriorated and our position mirrors the national position. 

“We are recording the length of time a patient waits in the department as a measure to make sure people don’t wait longer than necessary.”

National data showed there had been eight times as many 12-hour trolley waits in December compared to the same month in 2018.

And ambulance crews arriving at the UECC were struck with lengthy turnaround periods of 60 minutes or more.

Trust figures showed in December, 302 ambulances waited for over an hour — a significant increase compared to just 88 in the same month in 2018. 

The trust again said the long waits came down to the lack of available beds, which led to a crowded department with fewer beds and staff available to deal with the high number of ambulance arrivals. 

Wait times for patients needing to be triaged in the UECC also spiralled in December, with the trust only hitting its 15-minute target on four days.

Attendance figures over the past 12 months to the £12 million centre showed a total of 103,000 patients arriving between January to December 2019 — 23,848 of whom were children.

People brought to the department by ambulance totalled 26,882.  

Barnsley Hospital chief executive Richard Jenkins took up top job at Rotherham on a part-time basis on Monday, as Michael Wright becomes interim deputy.