HEALTH bosses at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton has apologised after below par Accident and Emergency performance in January.

Two out of the three A&Es departments in Sussex performed better than the national average.

But the RSCH fell well below that figure and has said sorry to patients, admitting “this falls short of the standards we strive for.”

The figures nationally have been described as the worst on record.

The national average for the month was 84.4 per cent with just two Trusts exceeding the 95 per cent target of seeing all patients within four hours of arrival.

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which includes the Conquest at Hastings and the DGH in Eastbourne, saw 85.3 per cent within the four hours with attendance 14.1 per cent higher than January 2018.

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which has A&Es in Worthing and Chichester, said 91.26 per cent of patients waited less than four hours from arrival at A&E to admission, transfer, or discharge.

Worthing and Chichester had 12,018 A&E patients in the month compared to 10,649 in January 2018, a 12.86 per cent rise.

But the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton performed less well, with only 79 per cent being dealt with in four hours.

A&E attendances at RSCH went up by 12 per cent and by 17 per cent in the Urgent Care Centre compared to the same period last year.

A spokesman said: “Almost 4,000 patients needing urgent care were admitted to our hospitals in January.

“We are sorry that some patients stayed longer than expected in our A&E department. This falls short of the standards we strive for.

“Our staff put in extraordinary efforts to care for their patients and we would like to thank them again for their dedication.

“We have seen significantly greater numbers of people attending our A&E department and the majority of those who needed to be admitted were moved to a ward promptly.

“Those who waited longer remained under the expert care of our clinical teams – unlike most A&Es across the country, there are senior consultants working in the department around the clock, seven days a week.

“We also had a large number of patients on our wards who were ready to leave hospital but waiting for appropriate care packages or placements before discharge. “