Record queues at hospitals as NHS struggles - who wants Boris to resign

Midlands Message Read in browser Subscribe to Midlands Message Midlands Message is edited by Jonathan Walker Send tips or suggestions to jon.walker@reachplc.com Record queues at Midlands hospitals as NHS can't cope Ambulances queuing outside A&E at a Birmingham hospital We've pretty much decide

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Subscribe to Midlands Message Midlands Message is edited by Jonathan Walker Send tips or suggestions to jon.walker@reachplc.com   Record queues at Midlands hospitals as NHS can't cope Ambulances queuing outside A&E at a Birmingham hospital

We've pretty much decided as a society to behave as if Covid-19 has gone away. It hasn't. In the seven days keading up to Easter, 2,823 patients were admitted with COVID-19 in the Midlands, and 3,164 patients were in the region's hospitals with the virus. This helps explain why the NHS is still under so much pressure. Research by Claire Miller, of the Reach Data Unit, has found that Midlands hospitals are overloaded to an extent usually seen only in the depths of winter, even though spring is upon us - and many hospitals currently have the worst performance since records began. One way of measuring performance is to look at how long A&E patients are forced to wait until they dealt with in some way, by being admitted, discharged or transferred. The goal is that they should not be forced to wait more than four hours, and the Government has set hospitals a target of dealing with 95% of patients within this time. But at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust, which runs hospitals across Birmingham, just 50.7% of people who visited A&E in March waited less than four hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred. This is the worst performance seen at the trust since monthly records began in June 2015. Or you might look at the number of people waiting for non-emergency treatment. At University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, which runs Leicester's hospitals, there were 113,365 people waiting for routine treatment at the end of February - a record number. Of these, 52.6% had been waiting for more than the target of 18 weeks.

'These levels of pressure are unprecedented' It's a similar picture elsewhere. At Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust in Nottinghamshire, 80.2% of people who visited A&E in March waited less than four hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred (against a target of 95%) - once again the worst performance seen at the trust since monthly records began in June 2015. At University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, just 70% of people who visited A&E in March waited less than four hours. At Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, the figure was 64.9%. Once again, this is the trust's worst performance since records began. At Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Trust, just 61.9% of people who visited A&E in March waited less than four hours to be admitted, discharged or transferred. And at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, serving Stoke and the surrounding area, just 60.2% of people who visited A&E in March were dealt with within four years - the Trust's worst figure since records began. Illustrating the strains the health service is under, the NHS issued a plea for people seeking help to use the 111 Online website first, rather than heading to A&E. Dr Nigel Sturrock, Regional Medical Director at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Midlands, said: "If you need care please come forward through 111 online first – 111 will put you in touch with a healthcare professional if needed and help you get the treatment you need and if it's an emergency call 999 or go to A&E." BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: "With Covid-19 cases hitting the highest level on record last week in England and resulting hospitalisations placing further demand on services and with almost 200,000 NHS staff absent due to Covid-19 in just one week, these levels of pressure are unprecedented." NHS National Medical Director Professor Stephen Powis said: "Nobody should be under any illusion about how tough a job NHS staff have on their hands, balancing competing priorities and maintaining high quality patient care. "Despite pressure on various fronts and the busiest winter ever for the NHS, long waits fell as staff continue to tackle two-year waits by July thanks to the innovative approaches to care they are now adopting – from same day hip replacements to dedicated mobile hubs for operations."

What we're reading Leicester MP Claudia Webbe has criticised the Government's deal to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda, describing it as "glorified human trafficking", Lee Garrett reports. Birmingham Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell is also a critic, telling Times Radio over the weekend that the offshoring policy "won't achieve what they are after" and is "likely to be horrendously expensive." Supporters of the plan include Dudley North Conservative MP Marco Longhi, who said on Twitter: "This will deter the illegal trade in human misery. This will deliver on a Brexit and manifesto promise. This is what people voted for." Nottinghamshire Conservative Robert Jenrick, a former Cabinet Minister, has become the first MP to open their home to Ukrainian refugees. But he has criticised the amount of red tape involved, as Tim Hanlon and Joshua Hartley report. Local authorities in Staffordshire have revealed almost 500 refugees from Ukraine are to make their homes in the county, reports Phil Corrigan. Labour has launched its local election manifesto in Birmingham, as Rhi Storer reports. What's striking is the focus is on the city entering a so-called "Golden Decade", and the Labour-run council's apparent success in securing Government funding for projects such as HS2 and the Commonwealth Games. It's a contrast with the more negative message from some local Labour parties in other parts of the country. But the elections have taken a nasty turn, with violence breaking out on the campaign trail. Jayne Hatnes and Harry Leach report. Plans for a huge new apartment complex reaching 50 storeys in Birmingham have been unveiled, reports Tamlyn Jones - and it could mean the city's famous old King Kong statue makes a return. Coventry is introducing a new 20mph zone, but a row has broken out after an area plagued by speeding cars was excluded. Ellie Brown reports.

Coming up Today: Rugby MP Mark Pawsey, founder member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Professional Sales, leads a debate on "business to business selling and encouraging jobs and growth". Wednesday: West Worcestershire MP Harriet Baldwin proposes laws giving women the same right to inherit hereditary titles as men. As things stand in the UK, most hereditary peerages descend down the male line (known as male primogeniture), which means that the peerage can only be inherited by a male relative. It means only one of the 92 excepted hereditary peers in the House of Lords is a woman. Thursday: Abi Brown, Leader at Stoke-on-Trent City Council, is at Westminster to speak to a Committee of MPs about the role culture can play in "levelling up".

What's the gossip? A clear majority of Midlands voters want Boris Johnson to resign, according to a new survey. Polling company Ipsos found 57% of Midlands voters would support Boris going, while 26% would oppose his resignation. It seems the PM is more unpopular here than in any other region of England, as the proportion calling for him to resign is higher in the Midlands than elsewhere (the other regions are the north, the south and London). However, 64% of Scottish voters want the PM gone. Perhaps surprisingly, a majority of Midlands voters, 61%, say the Government's performance delivering "levelling up" is a key issue for them. It suggests the policy has cut through, in the sense that people are at least aware of it. 76% of Midlands voters say the Government's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a key issue, and 84% say the cost of living crisis is a key issue.

Get in touch with us! Midlands Message is a newsletter covering politics and public affairs from across the Midlands. We aim to bring you news and expert analysis about the issues that matter to our region, and highlight the key stories from journalists across the Midlands. Send tips, comments or suggestions for how we can improve to Jon Walker,  You can also follow us on Twitter. And if you value what we do, please help us grow by passing on the message to others. They can sign up to Midlands Message here. See more stories

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