§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients admitted to Accident and Emergency in Hull and the East Riding in(a) 2002 and (b) 2003 waited for more than 12 hours before being treated or transferred to a ward. [132394]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe NHS Plan set a target for accident and emergency (A&E) to reduce the maximum wait in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours by 2004.
In line with this target from 2001, the Department has collected data on total time spent in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. The available figures for Hull and East Yorkshire National Health Service Trusts are shown in table 1.
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Table 1. Total time spent in A&E Departments, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Year Quarter Total attendances at major A&E Percentage of patients who spent less than 4 hours in A&E Number of patients spending more than 4 hours in A&E 2003–04 1 26,147 91.4 2,237 2002–03 4 23,919 84.6 3,695 2002–03 3 23,082 74 6,000 2002–03 2 24,313 64 8,827 The Department collects data on waiting times in A&E post decision to admit patients to a hospital ward. The figures for Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trusts for the two years ended March 2002 and March 2003 are shown in table 2.
Table 2. Admissions through major A&E Departments, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Year Quarter Number of patients admitted through major A&E Patients not placed in bed in a ward within 4 hours of a decision to admit Percentage 2003–04 1 6,249 205 3.3 2002–03 4 6,411 349 5.4 2002–03 3 6,051 252 4.2 2002–03 2 6,068 249 4.1 2002–03 1 6,243 260 4.2 2001–02 4 5,812 288 5.0 2001–02 3 3,976 119 3.0 2001–02 2 4.745 40 0.8 Source:
Hospital Activity Statistics, Department of Health