Medway Maritime Hospital’s A&E under pressure over winter

December was a stressful month for hospitals across the country, and according to the latest figures, one in four people waited more than four hours in Medway’s emergency department.

Some days saw more than 400 people walk through the doors of A&E, putting immense pressure on hospital workers and generating delays.

With a national target of 95% for patients being discharged within four hours, Medway only reached 73.6%. This left 2,640 patients waiting more than four hours.

National health bosses urged patients without life-threatening conditions to stay away from hospital.

Medway Hospital said the figures need to be nuanced, with tests and monitoring being carried-out during that waiting period.

A trust spokesperson said: “Our hospital has been very busy over this winter, but we have been working hard to ensure that people who use all of our services experience high quality, compassionate care.

“Patients who come to A&E have an initial evaluation of their condition by a trained clinician as soon as possible after arriving at the department – normally within a few minutes. We then develop a care plan for them and often make a wide range of assessments with X-rays, blood tests and electrocardiograms as well as getting opinions from specialist doctors. This happens while they are officially ‘waiting to be treated’.”