Hospital Trust apologises to patients after being ‘worst’ for 12 hour waits

The Trust which runs Blackpool Victoria Hospital has apologised to patients after it was highlighted that it was performing worse than any other in the country for 12 hour waits in hospital.

Like many others nationally, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Trust has been under intense pressure due to high demand over winter.

In addition, the Trust is facing other challenges, including gaps in critical staffing.

The 12 hour waits relate to the amount of time it takes a newly arrived patient in a hospital to get an actual ward bed.

It has been widely reported that some hospital patients across the country are having to wait in corridors because there are simply no beds available.

The report said Blackpool was “the worst nationally” for this waiting time.

Last month the Trust made a desperate plea to the public not to attend A&E for minor health issues like sore throats and sinusitis, as pressure on beds mounted.

And earlier in January a critical incident was declared at Blackpool Victoria due to “a very high demand for services” bringing “sustained pressure”, particularly in the Emergency Department.

A critical incident in a hospital is a severe situation where resources are overwhelmed, jeopardising safe patient care due to extreme demand, such as flu surges, winter pressures or major disruptions, forcing the hospital to take extraordinary measures like postponing non-urgent care, redirecting patients, or seeking external help to restore normal operations and manage patient safety.

A report to this week’s meeting of Blackpool Council’s Adult Social Care and Scrutiny Committee highlighted the issues the Trust was facing.

However, the report also highlighted the efforts the Trust was making to actively deal with the various issues, including increasing the capacity of its discharge lounge.

Maggie Oldham, Chief Executive of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “High demand has been seen across all NHS services in recent years and Blackpool is no exception.

“We know this can impact on the experience of patients and we are working hard to make improvements to reduce waiting times.

“This report highlights a number of areas where important work is taking place and progress is being made, from recently increasing the capacity of our Discharge Lounge so patients can comfortably wait to go home without needing a hospital bed, to strengthening our workforce where we have gaps in key areas.

“I’d like to apologise for waits our patients may be experiencing and offer reassurance that while patients are waiting for a bed, they are being reviewed, assessed and support by colleagues.”