Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust experts to help accident and emergency departments across the region hit four-hour target

Experts at Sherwood Forest Hospitals have been recruited to help other accident and emergency departments to hit performance targets.

NHS Improvement, which ensures care providers give safe, high quality, compassionate care, has asked emergency care staff at King’s Mill Hospital, which is run by the trust, to support other hospitals that are struggling to hit the target for treating people within four hours of being admitted to an accident and emergency department.

Latest figures rank Sherwood Forest as one of the best-performing trusts in England for meeting the four-hour target.

The move is part of NHS Improvement’s regional accident and emergency improvement programme that will feature staff at stronger-performing trusts examining processes at other organisations to share best practice and support improvements.

Emergency departments are expected to see 95 per cent of patients within four hours.

Many accident and emergency departments are well below this level, but in the four months from April to July King’s Mill Hospital was among the best-performing trusts in England.

In April the trust saw 91.2% of patients within target, in May it was 95.15%, in June it was 93.9% and in July it was 94.79%.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust managing director Peter Herring described the request as a tribute to staff throughout Sherwood Forest Hospitals, not just its Emergency Department.

“Growing demand means, the target to see patients within four hours of admission to emergency departments is becoming increasingly hard for hospitals to meet,” he said.

“Dedication, skill and commitment from emergency department staff is vital towards achieving figures like this but these results are also an important indication that we are getting things right in the rest of the hospital and the care system.

“We have focused tirelessly on making sure patients are treated and either sent home or moved into a hospital bed as soon as possible. Across-the-board improvements mean that patients are able to recover sooner and, working with social care colleagues, are then able to return safely to their homes or into community care.”

NHS Improvement said its regional A&E improvement programme would include creating a team of experts who would share best practice and system learning across the region. Initially, it is proposed that the mechanisms for doing this would be through organisational support, peer-to-peer support and promotion of practical guidance.