Following new figures which show the worst performance for an April since records began, the College says that emergency department waiting times should be a priority.
Record-busting waiting times, thousands of patients stuck for more than 12 hours, must be the top priority for the new Plaid Cymru-run Welsh government, according to the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
New figures from NHS Wales show that, in April this year, around one-in-seven patients at a major emergency department in Wales waited more than 12 hours after arriving to be discharged, admitted or transferred. The NHS constitutional standard is that 95% of patients pass through departments within four hours.
Last month, barely half (53.1%) did – the worst performance for an April since records began in 2010.
“This is not what an emergency department should be for. In a functioning system, patients would be able to come to our departments with confidence they will flow through in good time – either ending up in a bed, sent home or transferred elsewhere,” said Rob Perry, RCEM Wales vice president.
“But we do not operate in a functional system right now. For many years, the wrong solutions, such as trying to reduce demand, have been pursued by successive governments, and the impact on patients has been catastrophic,” he continued.
In May, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) updated its guidance for corridor care, the blight on emergency departments that is getting worse rather than getting better. It was followed at the end of the month by a letter from NHS England, which includes a new definition of corridor care and a duty on trusts in England to begin collecting data on incidences of corridor care, which will be published in May.
At the end of April, then health secretary Wes Streeting told College members that corridor care should never be tolerated in emergency departments.
“I am clear: corridor care is not normal, it is not acceptable, it should never be tolerated, and I am determined to end it,” he said.
