Hospital facing tough challenge

SOME patients taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital’s A&E department last week found themselves in a queue of ambulances as staff struggled to see them within the recommended 15 minutes.

During the week 29 ambulances had to queue outside A&E. IN the previous week 21 queued.

The figures are among data for ambulance services across the nation.

In Oldham last week 4,560 patients attended A&E and 92.6 per cent were seen within four hours.

Emergency admissions (1,107), were down by 106, and 339 patients — down by 17 — waited more than four hours for admission — far higher than the England average of 123.

The 29 ambulances which queued outside A&E were below the national average of 31, but the number of planned operations cancelled, at 16, was double the national average of eight.

A total of 26 beds were closed due to norovirus, compared with none the previous week, and to the national average of 20.

Dr Nick Gili, consultant in emergency medicine and clinical director for the Royal Oldham Hospital and Rochdale Infirmary, said: “The vast majority of our patients are seen, treated, admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of attendance..”