HUNDREDS of patients are waiting more than four hours to be seen at under-pressure hospital accident and emergency departments.

Bed shortages caused by delays in patients being discharged and a rise in the number of elderly and frail people needing to stay in hospital longer than average are having a knock-on effect on A&E.

Figures obtained by the Labour Party show the number of people waiting more than four hours at Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has more than doubled in a year.

They rose from 288 during the second week of April 2014 to 632 during the same week this month.

There was an even sharper rise at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which almost quadrupled from 107 to 390.

A spokesman for Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, which runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath among others, said: “When the hospital is very busy it unfortunately can lead to some patients having to wait longer than we would like to be treated in the emergency department and admitted into beds.

“We work closely with the ambulance service to ensure that any patient who does have to wait in A&E is made as comfortable as possible and are regularly monitored in a safe environment.

“We are working hard to improve the flow of patients through our A&E department and the hospital as a whole, as well as with our partner health and social care organisations to create more capacity out in the community that will allow patients to be discharged quicker.”

Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown, Nancy Platts, said: “Staff want to be able to treat patients quickly but are not being given the resources they need, which is leaving hundreds of patients waiting over four hours in A&E before being seen.”

Earlier this month the Brighton trust went on its highest level of alert following a surge in A&E attendances, which led to operations being cancelled and the wider NHS community being called on to help.

Background

Hospitals are nowadays finding themselves under high pressure throughout the year instead of the traditional winter period.

This has been blamed on delayed discharges caused by a shortage of available rehabilitation beds in the community and a continuing significant proportion of people who continue to come to A&E when they could be treated elsewhere.

Alternatives include walk-in centres, out-of-hour GP services, pharmacists and the NHS 111 helpline.

In order to ease pressures on beds and break the cycle, work in Brighton has included opening extra beds in Newhaven and setting up a temporary building outside A&E at the Royal Sussex for older patients who need to be assessed.