Hospital boost

New initiatives such as a minor injuries service and a drive to free up beds in other departments has meant that 96.78 per cent of patients are now treated, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival - in line to meet the Government's target of 98 per cent.

Elizabeth McManus, York Hospitals NHS Trust's director of operational services, said the entire hospital had pulled together to ensure A&E patients who needed a bed could be admitted as soon as possible.

In the department itself, a £250,000 minor injuries service has helped separate people requiring different levels of treatment and extended nurse practitioners. To allow patients on wards to be discharged earlier, a patients' lounge, where they can wait for relatives and taxis, is now available.

"We're well on target to reach 98 per cent and that represents really significant work from our A&E staff and from all the specialities within the hospital," said Miss McManus.

"It's not just about A&E, it's about the way patients flow in and out of it.

"Staff work on a daily basis to try and pull patients out of the A&E department into their beds. We know it's unacceptable for people to wait more than four hours so we're working very hard to make sure that they get the beds on those wards as early as possible during the day." Yesterday, figures from the National Audit Office (NAO) found that more than half of A&E departments did not have enough staff to provide a proper round-the-clock service.

Although York Hospital was not examined by the NAO, Miss McManus said the situation was not purely down to numbers.

She said: "You can always argue for more staff, but realistically you have to look at the way we are using those staff and look at different roles other than only nurses and only doctors who can help in terms of getting patients through A&E.

"It's not always about the amount of staff, but they way in which you use them."

Updated: 10:25 Thursday, October 14, 2004