North Cumbria’s A&E departments within top third in the UK

North Cumbria’s hospitals have performed above the national average once again for emergency care and remain in the top third in the country.

The trust is ranked as 44th out of 138 trusts in England for Accident & Emergency performance at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.

The national standard is that 95 per cent of patients should be seen, treated, admitted or discharged from A&E in under four hours. The national average for all trusts in August was 85.4 per cent and the trust’s overall performance was 90.6 per cent. Almost 8,000 people attended the trust’s two A&E departments in August.

Stephen Eames, chief executive at North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, said: “I am very pleased that we are consistently performing above the national average against the emergency care standard which is a real testament to the hard work of our staff who are committed to providing patients with timely access to quality care.

“I would like to say thank you to all of our staff at both hospital sites as it is important to highlight that this standard can only be met when our teams work together across all of our wards and departments.

“As always, the most important message to take from this is remembering that behind these figures are our patients and local communities who rely on us to provide them with the high standards of care they deserve. While we are delighted to remain above the national average, we will continue to strive to hit the 95 per cent standard.”