Hundreds of Croydon A&E patients forced to wait more than 12 hours

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Hundreds of patients were forced to wait for more than 12 hours for a bed at Croydon University Hospital, the latest NHS figures reveal.

In July 2022, a total of 429 people had to wait 12 hours or more before being admitted.

Around 10 per cent of the people who come to A&E are admitted to the hospital for treatment or further tests.

The trust which runs the hospital said it was working to free up beds to cut the time people were waiting and added staff provide “ongoing care” until a bed becomes available.

The long waits came in the same month the hospital, along with others in South London, warned emergency departments were “extremely busy”.

During July, a total of 17,187 people attended A&E slightly down from 17,334 the previous month.

In July, 4,585 people had to wait for more than four hours at A&E – this means just 73 per cent of patients were seen in under four hours.

The NHS target is that at least 95 per cent of patients attending A&E should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.

The data also shows that in July there were a total of 1,322 emergency admissions. This is when a person is admitted to hospital unexpectedly, usually after attending A&E, but this can happen via a patient’s GP.

Out of the more than 1,000 people, 429 waited more than 12 hours for a bed on a ward after the decision they should be admitted was made.

Dr Subhro Banerjee, medical director and consultant in emergency medicine at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said: “Around 90 per cent of patients who visit our emergency department are treated and discharged home, without the need for a hospital admission.

“For those who do require a hospital stay either for further treatment or while they await the outcome of diagnostic testing, our clinical teams in the department provide ongoing care until the right hospital bed becomes available. However, we know that for some patients, this can take longer than we would like.

“We’re working with our NHS teams and our partners in social care to ensure that other patients who are well enough to leave hospital are able to be discharged home without delay, as well as launching initiatives including Community Rapid Response, so that patients can be cared for by our dedicated teams in the comfort of their own homes, freeing up hospital beds for those who need them most.”

Pictured top: Croydon University Hospital, London Road (Picture: Google Maps)