University Hospital in Coventry has been praised by the likes of health minister Jeremy Hunt and other clinical chiefs as almost all A & E patients are now being seen within the expected four hour waiting threshold.
Just a few months ago the hospital was criticised for the fact that one in three A & E patients had waited for longer than this four hour period and it was revealed that this target had been missed for over half a year which could have put lives at risk. After this information was revealed the Government provided hospital bosses with £4million in order to introduce measures that would ease pressure in the department and allow staff to see patients within the designated time.
This cash injection, along with the launch of a Getting Emergency Care Right campaign in September has led to massive improvements, according to Andy Hardy, the hospital chief executive. These improvements have shown in the figures too. As of the week ending 12th January 2014, the hospital was just below the target of 95% of patients being seen within four hours. However, at one point this year, 97% of its A & E admissions were being seen within the expected waiting time.
Chair of NHS Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Adrian Canale-Parola, expressed her congratulations for the hard work and effort that has been put into meeting this target:
“Progress has been great over the last three months especially, which is fantastic during the typically busy winter period. University Hospital has regularly been one of the top performing hospitals against this vital target this winter.”
