East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust data revealed: Waiting times for ambulances, A&E and GP referrals

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust covers the following sites: Bexhill Hospital / Conquest Hospital / Eastbourne District General Hospital / Bexhill Community Diagnostic Centre / Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital / Uckfield Community Hospital.

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Data from the trust has revealed waiting times for various services. We’ve also looked at how other NHS trusts did in Sussex.

Ambulances queuing outside A&E:

In the week starting December 26, 29 per cent of 755 arrivals were waiting for 30 minutes or more to hand over their patients to A&E staff. The average for England is 44 per cent.

According to the NHS, patients should be handed over within 15 minutes.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust – 37 per cent of 1,478 arrivals

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – 56 per cent of 573 arrivals

A&E waiting times:

In November 2022, 42 per cent of 10,433 arrivals at A&E were waiting for longer than the target time of four hours. The average in England is 31 per cent.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust – 45 per cent of 27,660 arrivals

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – 43 per cent of 10,627 arrivals

Waiting for treatment:

In October 2022, 45 per cent of 54,197 patients were waiting longer than the target time of 18 weeks for routine treatment. This refers to consultant-led treatment for non-urgent conditions following a GP referral. The average for England is 41 per cent.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust – 46 per cent of 120,481 patients

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – 36 per cent of 47,400 patients

A spokesperson for NHS Sussex said: “Our priority is to ensure that our population is receiving high quality, safe, health and care services. The NHS is facing record demand on urgent and emergency services – October and November were the busiest on record for A&E attendances and the most serious ambulance callouts.

“Health and care organisations are all working closely together to manage this expected increase in need. We have committed to a number of key actions that will help to make sure people are able to get support, care and treatment in the best possible way - including increasing the number of appointments at GP practices, provide more support to frail people to help them stay in their place of residence and prevent them ending up in hospital for care and help more people leave hospital quicker when they are well enough to return to their place of residence or go to a more appropriate place to get care.

“Whilst all services remain very busy, we urge the public to continue to use the most appropriate service for their needs and to recognise that some people may need to wait longer than you may expect or want to be seen and treated. This is necessary to allow us to see and treat everyone and to make sure our sickest patients are getting the urgent care they need.”

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