Coventry hospital warn people to stay away as A&E waiting time targets are missed for a SIXTH month

Tme taken for patients to receive treatment has also exceeded the target time for a 17th month in succession



University Hospital has failed to hit A&E waiting time targets for a sixth month in a row.

Now bosses at the Walsgrave hospital are warning city residents to only come in only if they are faced with a real medical emergency.

Data obtained by the Telegraph shows that in March, 84.4 per cent of A&E patients were treated in the target time of four hours or less.

That’s well below the national target to treat 95 per cent of patients in less than four hours from arrival to discharge, admission or transfer.

Last week a warning was sent out by health chiefs in the city asking people to consider other NHS services before going to hospital.

According to the hospital on a normal day they see 500 patients in A&E but on Tuesday, May 10, they saw over 530.

A UHCW NHS Trust spokesperson said: “We would like to remind the public to consider the NHS services they use so that we can help manage the pressure on our emergency services.

“We are working closely with our partners to ensure that emergencies continue to be prioritised and receive the urgent care they need.”

Patients at University Hospital are also waiting too long to start treatment with targets being missed for the 17th month in a row.

The figures reveal that in March, 89.6 per cent of hospital patients were forced to wait 18 weeks or less from referral to receiving the treatment they need.

The national target is to make sure 92 per cent of patients get the right treatment in less than 18 weeks.

The trust spokesman added: “Whilst the referral to treatment figure is still not quite where we would want it, we have seen an incremental improvement in this over the last four months.”

Across the country there has been a record demand for NHS hospital services in recent months.

Nationally performance on ambulance calls, A&E waiting times, referral to treatment times and delayed transfers of care were all at their worst levels since recording began in March.

There are a range of services that patients can access, leaving 999 services available for critical and life-threatening injuries. These include their GP, walk-in or urgent care centres, pharmacies or by calling 111.

The trouble is that when you issue targets like this, you focus people on the wrong thing.

Waiting times are unimportant. All that matters is that people are treated and they recover. That nobody dies in A&E is far more important than the fact that someone with a minor injury had to wait 5 hours.

There are other alternatives, but people are often not aware of them. I've seen signs on buses advising that 'drop-in' centres are open 8 til late. What does that mean?