QEH to roll out new A&E strategy amid patient surge concerns

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is set to implement a new escalation plan in its Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) to address challenges with patient flow and waiting times.

It is expected to be completed by December, with implementation to follow shortly thereafter, according to Chief Executive Officer Neil Clark.

Speaking on the hospital’s Pulse Radio Show on Monday, the hospital chief outlined plans to streamline operations during periods of increased demand.

“It’s all about flow; we can see a surge happening as it happens, and we don’t have to wait until we are full to know that the number of patients arriving within an hour is higher than what we normally expect,” he said. “I have data on the number of attendances by hour of day, [so] we know what the normal pattern is. When that normal pattern changes, we can respond to that earlier.”

The initiative follows public complaints about extended wait times, particularly in the A&E. Clark revealed that the plan is being developed collaboratively across departments.

“I commissioned an escalation plan; it’s being developed right now by the different teams [because] it’s not as simple as me saying here’s the plan, do it. It’s about working with the individual departments across the hospital to understand what are the trigger points, when are they getting busy, and how will they respond when they get busy,” he explained.

The CEO also announced plans for a new health information system to improve access to patient records. He acknowledged that various factors could contribute to delays, from A&E surges to technical issues.

“That could be a surge coming into the A&E Department, [and] how do we respond to that? It could be a delay in the pathology system, maybe one of the systems has gone down. It could be that we are unable to identify any beds for patients to move into, so there is a different challenge there in terms of the bed flow,” Clark explained.