LONG waiting times at the city's accident and emergency department could be slashed if a recruitment drive is successful.

Worcestershire Royal A&E is looking for locum GPs and ANPs to hopefully relieve some of the pressure the department is currently under and reduce waiting times for patients.

People have been experiencing long waits at accident and emergency as well as queues of ambulances waiting outside the department to drop off patients.

Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said the jobs were a key step forward in reducing waiting times in the emergency department.

He said: “We continue to run active recruitment programmes across all our urgent and emergency care services to ensure our patients receive the best experience of care from the best people.

“I thank every one of our staff for their incredible commitment, dedication and compassion and would encourage anyone to join our fantastic team."

Currently, the waiting time at the hospital's emergency department is almost three and a half hours on Monday afternoon.

Previously, the trust has urged people to only call 999 in an emergency.

In October, when queuing ambulances had blocked buses from reaching the main entrance of the hospital, Mr Hopkins said: “We would urge the public to contact NHS 111, either online or by calling 111 to receive free urgent care advice before attending our A&E department, and to only use 999 in a life-threatening emergency.

“Teams across our two Emergency Departments, GP surgeries, community nursing and social care have been working incredibly hard to ensure patients receive appropriate and safe care throughout one of the most challenging periods in the history of the NHS.

“Our Emergency Departments are very busy now, with patient numbers well above what we were seeing this time two years ago.

 

"Caring for so many people while also making sure that we protect our patients and staff from the risk of Covid-19 infection is a significant challenge, but one that our dedicated staff are rising to.

“Please also remember you can seek help from a local Minor Injury Unit (MIU) for a variety of injuries including; wounds, sprains, strains and minor burns with much shorter waiting times.”

For more information about the all job opportunities visit: www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/jobs