Figures show under threat King George A&E processing ambulance patients quicker than Queen’s
Under-threat King George Hospital’s (KGH) accident and emergency unit is treating patients more quickly than the department planned to replace it.
Of the ambulances arriving at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, 38 per cent were processed within 15 minutes, compared to 78 per cent at KGH.
The news comes as the College of Emergency Medicine said it is unsafe to leave patients in ambulances for more than 15 minutes.
Just over five per cent of ambulances at Queen’s took more than 30 minutes to be processed.
Cllr Joyce Ryan, chairman of Redbridge Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee, said she cannot see the A&E at KGH in Barley Lane, Goodmayes, closing in the “immediate future”.
Queen’s would take on extra patients if it did close.
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Cllr Ryan said: “I don’t see an end to it. I don’t know how long it will take to resolve and it’s very distressing for patients that are waiting a long time. Nothing will happen until it’s safe to do so.”
Both Ilford MPs, Lee Scott and Mike Gapes, said they will continue campaigning to keep the A&E at KGH open.
Mr Scott, Conservative MP for Ilford North, said: “We have been told the closure is on ice until it’s safe. The threat is something which has been going on for the best part of a decade.”
Mr Gapes, Labour MP for Ilford South, said: “It confirms that there’s no way that they can go ahead with their plans. There’s not enough investment in GPs, a growing population and a large number of young children.”
A spokesman for the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The Queen’s A&E department was built for 90,000 patients, but we are still seeing very high levels of demand, with over 130,000 patients last year.
“We are working with GPs to make sure only patients with serious emergencies come to A&E for care.
“We are also reviewing hospital processes to reduce delays in our patients needing admission getting a bed.”
