Colchester General Hospital Chief Executive Nick Hulme has apologised after the hospital failed to meet targets for Accident and Emergency waiting times. The failings were highlighted in June when Colchester Hospital only managed to see 82.3% of A&E patients within a four hour wait time, missing the NHS national target of 95%.

Due to the Hospital Trust missing these targets they have been made aware that they will now be monitored by a regional team from NHS England to ensure waiting times do not increase.

During a trust board meeting on Monday (1st August) Nick Hulme said ““We are in the spotlight and indeed we should be. We can’t have the 90 patients yesterday who were promised to be seen in four hours and they weren’t.

It’s unsafe to have a crowded A&E department. There’s a direct correlation between crowded A&E departments and mortality. I apologise to the board and the community that we are letting too many people down but we are on it and we will improve. “

Colchester General Hospital was put into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) back in July 2013 and was once again rated inadequate following an inspection in July 2016. The hospital has since formed a partnership with Ipswich Hospital Trust to try and improve standards.

Steve Webb, Head of Litigation at TSP, said “With respect to the current Chief Executive, we have been promised improvements at Colchester Hospital for many years and seen very little. With regard to the A & E waiting times, Nick Hulme himself recognises the link between waiting time failures and mortality. Let us hope they take some positive action on this.”

Based in Colchester and Clacton, Essex, Thompson Smith and Puxon provide Medical Negligence advice across East Anglia. AvMA and Law Society accredited specialist Julian Wilson and his team are experienced in handling medical claims from birth injury to misdiagnosis and treatment delay.

If you think you may have been the victim of a medical accident or inadequate care, contact one of our Medical Claims Advisors on 01206 574431 to find out more about how we can help you with your potential claim.

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