As a Trust, we are committed to providing the highest level of care to all of our patients, including the 130,000 people we see in our A&E (accident and emergency) departments each year.
We have three A&E departments: one at St Helier Hospital, one at Epsom Hospital and an eye A&E at Sutton Hospital.
Figures designed to show the quality of A&E services we provide are published on our website regularly. They include:
National emergency access standard
The national standard, set by the Department of Health, expects 95% of patients attending an A&E department must be seen, treated, admitted or discharged in under four hours.
Emergency access, 2011-12 (to date): 96.9%
Emergency access standard for 2011-12: 95%
This standard has been set by: Department of Health
The Trust's emergency access performance for 2010-11: 97.1%
Time to initial assessment in A&E
The time from arrival in A&E to the start of full initial assessment, which includes a brief history, pain and early warning scores (including vital signs) for all patients arriving by emergency ambulance.
Quality standard: 95% of patients must be assessed within 15 minutes
This standard has been set by: Department of Health
For example, in March 2012, 95% of our patients in A&E waited less than 14 minutes from arrival to initial assessment, and less than four hours from their arrival to their departure (either home, or to be admitted to hospital).
Other A&E standards
A more detailed summary of the care delivered by our A&E departments can be downloaded below and is updated on a monthly basis. This includes: how long patients wait in our A&E departments; the percentage who leave without being treated; and, the proportion who return, unplanned, within seven days.
Overall, these reflect the experience and safety of our patients, and the effectiveness of the care we provide.
