The Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust has been given a final warning for keeping people waiting too long in its accident and emergency department.
According to the BBC, the Trust could have board members removed if it does not improve. Monitor, the organisation which polices foundations hospitals, has lambasted the Trust for failing to reach targets for patients being seen in accident and emergency for the last three years.
This was one of several criticisms of the trust and as a result they will now have to submit performance data and action plan updates on a monthly basis.
The trust has been provided with a four hour target for patients to be seen in the accident and emergency department. This is a target which you would expect would be easily manageable due to such a large time frame but a spokesman for the Trust has advised that it is “one of the busiest trusts in the NHS” and that “…it sees by far the most ambulance attendees of any trust in the region.”
As a consequence of this the amount of time people are waiting to be seen in accident and emergency has risen but more needs to be done to reduce these waiting times or there is a risk that patients may suffer complications or an increase in the severity of their condition if they are not seen within the four hour time frame.
The Trust has responded to these criticisms by calling an urgent meeting to consider proposals to reduce waiting times and also stated that it was “absolutely committed” to improving its performance so that it consistently met the four hour target.
