Thursday 19 September 2024
The Welsh Government must come up with a plan to address the extreme demands being experienced by the country’s Emergency Departments – with some already issuing warnings to the public about being overwhelmed.
That’s the call from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine following a message from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board yesterday (Wednesday 18 September) asking the public to “only attend in an emergency” due to a “huge spike in attendances” at University Hospital of Wales.
New data released today, Thursday 19 September 2024, by the Welsh Government also revealed that last month was the second worst August for Emergency Department performance since records began in 2012, for patients experiencing extremely long waits.
Almost a quarter of people (23.6%) waited eight hours or longer, and more than one in 10 (14.5%) waited 12 hours or longer in a Welsh ED last month.
In the last seven years, the number of people waiting 12 hours or longer has more than quadrupled, despite attendance being 3.5% lower than in 2017.
On Monday, First Minister Eluned Morgan called for NHS bosses to be “held accountable” and has vowed to bring down appointment waiting lists, but RCEM has stressed that the government must also urgently tackle soaring Emergency Department waiting times.
Dr Rob Perry, RCEM Vice President Wales said: “We welcome the First Minister’s commitment to improving the NHS in Wales.
“However, as well as waits for elective care there must be a strategy to address the dreadful long waits experienced on a daily basis in Emergency Departments. Just this week we have seen at least two Health Boards issuing warnings about being overwhelmed.
“August’s performance figures speak for themselves and it seems the situation has worsened since then. As an Emergency Physician the scenes we see are unacceptable, it is simply not fair for people to endure these long waits.
“If we are experiencing that level of demand already – in what were traditionally considered the quieter months – it is hard to comprehend what it will be like when the inevitable winter spike comes in a few short months.
“Urgent action is needed now to #ResuscitateEmergencyCare and give the people of Wales the standard of health care they need and deserve.”
The full data set can be found here.
A graphical representation of the data can be found here.
