[L]atest national A&E benchmarking data published by NHS England shows that North Cumbria NHS Trust (NCUH) has been performing above the national average and for the past 15 months.
The data for April 2017 ranks the Trust, that runs the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, as 53rd out of 138 Trusts with a major A&E department in England.
The national target is that 95% of patients should be seen, treated, admitted or discharged from A&E in under four hours. The National average for Trusts was 85.7% and NCUH’s overall performance was 90%.
The data demonstrates continuous improvement for North Cumbria, with the Trust previously reporting being previously being rated as 96th in January 2016 when the target was set.
Stephen Eames, chief executive said: “The Trust has been making some changes to strengthen clinical nursing leadership particularly in emergency care. We have remained above the national average 13 months consistently.
The entire staff are getting better at seeing patients more quickly and we continue to improve month to month. We couldn’t do this without our dedicated A&E staff who work hard every day to improve the services they deliver.”
Members of the public are urged to only use A&E services for real emergencies. For all non-emergencies, the Trust urges people to use their local pharmacies and GPs as their first point of contact.
For more information, please visit NHS England’s website at https://www.england.nhs.uk
