The number of people going to accident and emergency at the Queen’s Medical Centre has not fallen in the last year.
NHS England data reveals the number of people attending is at the same level as in the summer of 2022.
In June 2023, 17,978 people attended A&E, compared to 17,892 in June 2022.
In May 2023, 18,456 people attended A&E while the same period in 2022 saw 18,723 attendances.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the QMC, apologised and said in a statement that “too many people are waiting too long”.
The trust said it is implementing measures to get patients through the hospital safely and quickly.
In June 2021, NUH said “emergency activity was at the highest numbers ever seen” as Covid lockdown restrictions eased – with a total of 18,613 people turning up to A&E.
NHS England statistics also show there was a decrease in the number of patients waiting 12 hours or more from the decision to admit the patient to their admission to hospital in the last few months.
In June 2023, 682 patients waited more than 12 hours – but this was down on the May 2023 figure of 831 people.
Cllr Rachael Ellis, the Labour councillor for Bestwood St Albans went to the QMC A&E two weeks ago with her father who is 96.
She said the new statistics were “not a surprise” but were “worrying”.
She said: “My dad was admitted by ambulance fairly rapidly. They wanted to scan his head and fortunately, he hadn’t done any serious damage.
“We went in at about 8 am and he got back to the care home at 11 pm. There was some time waiting around on a trolley and it’s all to do with pressures.
“From what I saw as the day went on the number of people attending got higher and higher. It looked like a crisis point, to be honest.
“I suspect that because there are problems in other parts of the NHS that people are going into A&E instead of going to their GP.
“The whole system needs to be looked at very carefully. The Government has to bite the bullet and invest in our health services.
“As we head into winter it’s certainly going to get worse, not better.”
Cllr Ellis added that she places the responsibility for the problem at “at the top of the chain” with the government.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said its Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan will “deliver one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in the NHS’s history”.
Cllr Ellis said: “Everyone I saw was working incredibly hard. The staff couldn’t have done anymore given the number of people they were looking after.
“There is a crisis in the NHS and it’s been a long time coming. It’s due to all the cuts and underfunding.
“Now we’re dealing with a situation where you have to ask if it’s fit for purpose and how we’re going to put it right.
“Everyone wants a health service free at the point of delivery but it has to be fit for purpose.”
Duane McLean, Interim Chief Operating Officer for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said “Our staff are working incredibly hard to ensure patients with the most urgent medical needs are prioritised whilst demand on our services remains high.
“We apologise for the fact that too many people are waiting too long in our Emergency Department (ED) for admission.
“Along with our partners in health and social care, we are introducing a number of measures to get patients through and out of our hospitals safely and quickly.
“We know there is more to do and people are waiting in our emergency department longer than we would like.
“As part of our People First strategy, we are working to improve hospital flow, which impacts on waiting times for these patients.“We are also looking at innovative new ways to speed up the transfer of patients out of our ED and between clinical areas as patients are identified as fit enough to be discharged and leave hospital.
“We ask the public to continue to help us help them by thinking carefully about which NHS services they use. If you are unsure, visit NHS 111 online and they will direct you to the best place for your care.”
A recent paper published by the House of Commons about NHS statistics stated that “A&E attendances have increased over time”.
It added: “In the most recent quarter, attendances at major departments were 12 per cent higher than they were ten years ago, while attendances at minor departments were 30 per cent higher.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government is working to cut waiting times and the NHS is treating record numbers of patients each day.
“We have virtually eliminated 18-month waits, and are taking immediate action to improve urgent care, getting 800 new ambulances on the road, adding 5,000 hospital beds and scaling up virtual wards.
“The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan – backed by over £2.4 billion – will put us on a sustainable footing, including by nearly doubling the number of doctors and nurses in training by 2031.”
