§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on accident and504W emergency services at (a) Harold Wood Hospital in the London Borough of Havering and (b) Oldchurch Hospital Romford. [108663]
§ Mr. HuttonImproving patients' experience of emergency care is essential. In light of this, Reforming Emergency Care was launched in October 2001 supported by £118 million investment. It sets a long-term programme of reform supported by extra investment and new capacity to address one of the public's key concerns about the national health service—waiting in accident and emergency.
Harold Wood hospital does not have an A&E service but a minor injuries unit.
Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust have invested £102,000 in the following initiatives at Oldchurch hospital:
505WImprovement of the medical assessment unit and an additional emergency physician at Oldchurch hospital to increase throughput in A&E.Improving primary care working at Oldchurch with the aim of re-directing primary care presentations in A&E.A sector wide project manager based at the Oldchurch site.The NHS Plan set the target to reduce by 2004, the maximum time any patient spends in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours. In 2003 Barking, Havering and Redbridge achieved the interim target of 90 per cent., of patients spending no more than four hours in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.