Hundreds in 12-hour wait to be seen at A&E unit

AND ONLY FOUR IN 10 PATIENTS ARE SEEN WITHIN FOUR HOURS

-  ANITA MERRITT

MORE than 700 patients had to wait more than 12 hours to be seen at Derriford Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department last month.

In terms of the percentage of patients seen within four hours in A&Es, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has the third-lowest in the country, at 38.50%.

Nationally, the number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E reached its highest level since last year’s winter crisis, according to new data. Percentage-wise, Devon as a region was worse than the national figure for England.

The second-highest for 12-hour waits in Devon last month was Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, with 141, and at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust it was 86 patients.