Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust removes live A&E wait time display from sites for 'refinement'

Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) had launched the feature earlier today, but took it down this afternoon.

A display on the front page of the trust's website had showed the average wait times for adults and children at both Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH).

Sara Biffen, acting chief operating officer at SaTH, said the feature was a 'work in progress' and was being refined so it is as accurate as possible.

She said: "We are trialling a new tool on our website which shows the total average wait time in our A&Es from time of arrival to time of departure or admittance. This tool is a work in progress and is in the soft launch phase.

"We have temporarily taken it down for further refinement to ensure that it is as accurate as it can be for those who need to use our services. We hope to share the tool again shortly and will keep our communities fully updated.

"In the meantime, our A&Es remain open to anyone who needs our urgent and emergency care services."

The new feature came as the trust also launched a campaign to help it avoid a winter crisis – urging patients to 'think which service' is most appropriate for their needs.

Waiting times at Shropshire's A&E departments have been amongst the worst in the country in recent months – and have been under relentless pressure for a number of years.

Data released for August showed that just 61.5 per cent of patients in the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care Board area were dealt with within the Government's four-hour target to be admitted, transferred or discharged.

When operating earlier today, the live updates feature showed the average amount of time, in hours and minutes, that it takes a patient to be seen and treated by a doctor or registered nurse, from the time of their arrival to when they are discharged or admitted.

As of 3.20pm today the wait for an adult at RSH was 12 hours and 49 minutes, and two hours 32 minutes for a child.

At PRH it was eight hours 24 minutes for an adult, and three hours 36 minutes for a child.

The trust has also apologised for the current delays faced by patients.

A statement from SaTH said: "Our waiting times are longer than we want them to be as our emergency departments and hospital wards remain under pressure, and we continue to prioritise those most in need.

"All available additional space within the trust is open and we, along with partners, are working hard to release additional capacity in the community to support patients who are ready to be discharged from hospital as quickly as possible, to free up beds for patients who most need our support.

"We would like to thank patients for their support and understanding whilst we work with partners to reduce waiting times."