"Waiting time"

We are sorry that your mother-in-law and you had such a long wait and appreciate that this must have been frustrating. The Emergency Department can often be very busy even at times when it seems there aren't many people in the waiting room. That's because the most seriously ill patients will usually have been brought in by ambulance or referred by their GPs, rather than entering through the waiting area. Staff can be very busy with patients in the 'majors' and 'resus' areas.

We have reviewed the doctors' rota since your mother-in-law's visit so that we have more senior cover until midnight, which should assist us in reducing waiting times.

We have also been piloting a scheme with nurse practitioners working together in minor injuries to reduce waits, as well as benefiting the quality of care. There has been a significant reduction in waiting times recently, but please accept our apologies again for having such a long wait when you visited in March.

We are sorry that your mother-in-law and you had such a long wait and appreciate that this must have been frustrating. The Emergency Department can often be very busy even at times when it seems there aren't many people in the waiting room. That's because the most seriously ill patients will usually have been brought in by ambulance or referred by their GPs, rather than entering through the waiting area. Staff can be very busy with patients in the 'majors' and 'resus' areas. We have reviewed the doctors' rota since your mother-in-law's visit so that we have more senior cover until midnight, which should assist us in reducing waiting times. We have also been piloting a scheme with nurse practitioners working together in minor injuries to reduce waits, as well as benefiting the quality of care. There has been a significant reduction in waiting times recently, but please accept our apologies again for having such a long wait when you visited in March.