12 hour trolley waits in north Cumbrian hospitals almost doubled in September from July and August.
There were 747 12 hour trolley waits in September last year, according to documents published by North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC), which is a significant increase from July and August which both reported fewer than 400.
The term trolley waits refers to the time in which a patient waits to be admitted onto a ward after a decision has been made to keep them in hospital.
An NCIC spokesperson said: “There was a spike in trolley waits in September 2024 however this subsequently reduced to 451 in November 2024 which is about half the level seen in November 2023, (838).
“We do generally see variation in performance over the year depending on attendances and GP referrals, which were the highest they had been for two years that month.”
Prior to this uptick, 12 hour trolley waits had been on a downward trend since November 2023, but as documents published in July explain, they were still higher than the same time in 2023.
In July and August 2023, there were 216 and 289 waits respectively, this then rose in September to 490 12 hour trolley waits which then rose again to 614 in October.
“We have an improvement plan in place to reduce pressure on our Accident & Emergency departments and minimise trolley waits for our patients,” said the spokesperson.
“It includes a wide range of activities spanning appropriate admission avoidance, improvements in A&E, and speeding up discharge.
“Funding has been approved for a new £12m Urgent Treatment Centre at the Cumberland Infirmary which we expect to be up and running for next winter.”