
North Cumbria’s A&E departments and urgent treatment centres are now publishing live waiting times.
It is a bid by the North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust to keep people better informed and help reduce frustrations for people who are waiting to be seen.
Information is available to view for A&E departments at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and Whitehaven’s West Cumberland Hospital, and Urgent Treatment Centres in Keswick and Penrith.
The data covers such details as current occupancy and how many patients have arrived in the last hour.
The trust said, however, that no matter how busy the departments were, the most seriously ill and injured patients would always be seen first and as quickly as possible.
The initiative aims to manage patient expectations and promote the often lower waiting times at Urgent Treatment Centres, suitable facilities for non-life-threatening cases.
At 4.20pm today, Thursday July 4, the information shows there are 34 patients waiting at the Cumberland Infirmary, with an average wait time of an hour-and-a-half to two hours after an initial assessment.
At the West Cumberland, there are 23 patients waiting, with an average wait time of an hour to an hour-and-a-half.
At the Urgent Treatment Centre in Penrith, there are 13 patients waiting, with an average wait time of an hour to an hour-and-a-half and at Keswick, there is one patient waiting with a wait time of 30 minutes to an hour.
To find out the live wait times, visit https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/locations/emergency-care-hub