Doctors across England have warned of crisis on the wards amidst spiralling winter flu cases - as one map reveals the worst areas for A&E delays. Several hospital trusts have already declared critical incidents in recent days as wards are swamped with winter flu patients. Some have even taken to online to warn the public against coming, telling them to come "on your own" and restricting visitors.
Data shows that nearly half (44.7%) of arrivals at "Type 1" A&E departments - i.e. those in major town and city hospitals - last month faced delays of more than four hours. One man at a hospital in Liverpool faced an agonising three-day wait to be seen by a consultant, it was revealed this week.
The four-hour delay figure was up from 43% in November, although lower than the 45.3% rate in December 2023. The highest on record was the December the year prior, at 50.4%. Figures now show which hospital trusts recorded the worst average wait times, with Hull being particularly bad. Some 64.3% of A&E attendees there faced a four hour wait or more to be admitted last month. Similarly, at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust it was 63.7% and at North Tees And Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust it was 62.4%.
Tens of thousands meanwhile faced agonising delays of more than half a day for a bed. A total of 54,207 attendances at A&Es in December had at least a 12 hour wait from decision to admit to admission. That’s the third highest total on record and is up from 44,045 people in December 2023, but below the peak of 54,573 in December 2022. A total of 1,894 arrivals at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust had to wait over 12 hours, which is more than at any trust in England.
