A and E waiting times at Hull RI still well below target

There's been a slight improvement in A and E waiting times at Hull Royal Infirmary - but it's still way short of the NHS's target. Last week - 77-point-4 percent of patients at the city's casualty department were seen within 4 hours. The figure's one of the worst in the country, but better than the 64-point-2 percent seen in the week after Christmas. The NHS's target is 95 percent. The city's MPs have been meeting the new chief exec of Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust this morning to discuss how he plans to improve A and E services in the future.

Hull North MP Diana Johnson told Viking FM:

"We know over Christmas, Hull's A & E had the longest waits in the country so we'll certainly want to focus on how the hospital is coping at the moment. We'll also want to have a more general update on what is happening in the rest of the hospital and the knock on effect that cancelled operations have had.

"We're particuarly concerned about staffing levels and making sure that there are enough doctors and nurses available in A&E to treat patients. I do want to pay tribute to the staff both at the hospital and with the ambulance trust, who are working so hard to make sure that patients are treated safely.

"I do think there are real issues still to be addressed in the trust and this was set out in the report from the Care Quality Commission last year about staffing levels and I think that certainly has to be one of the key issues that we continue to talk to the trust about."