EMERGENCY patients at Liverpool’s main hospital are waiting too long for treatment because of staff shortages in the A&E department.

The Royal Liverpool has the worst rate for A&E waiting times in the North West and locum consultants have been drafted in because the Trust has been unable to cover 24-hour medical shifts.

The hospital also blames a “relentless” increase in attendees, with 20,000 more cases dealt with in A&E now a year than in 2002 – many of them not requiring emergency treatment.

The locum doctors have been contracted by Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) to work on Friday and Saturday nights, when there are the highest number of breaches of a Government target stipulating patients should be seen within four hours.

At least 98pc of those entering A&E should be seen within this timescale according to the national standard but over the last year – when, the trust experienced recruitment problems – the Royal has only achieved 94pc.

However, the hospital claims this has improved more recently and stood at 97.2pc between March 31 and June 22 this year.

A spokeswoman for the Royal said the Government’s criticised Modernising Medical Careers training programme has resulted in gaps in A&E cover.

It has been claimed the programme, introduced in 2005, may dumb down train-ing and technical difficulties in its appli-cation process and has prompted widespread protest from junior doctors.

The spokeswoman said: “As you’d expect in an inner city hospital, Friday and Saturday nights in the emergency department are particularly busy.

“We have three senior vacan-cies which have been filled, but in line with the Government’s Modernising Medical Careers training programme – which provides a structured career plan for doctors – new members of staff will not be starting until the beginning of August.

“Therefore, we are looking to cover the gaps.” She added: “Pressures on the emergency department to achieve the four-hour target are multiple and obviously will include staff shortages because of sickness and vacancies.

“The main problem is the relentless increase in attendances, 4pc per annum for the past five years. This department is now treating 20,000 more patients per annum than in 2002. Many of these are not emergencies.”

Liverpool PCT board papers say the body has been working closely with the Royal to ensure the four-hour target is met.

A report reads: “Over the last year the emergency department at the Trust has experienced difficulty with medical recruitment and covering the 24/7 medical shifts.

“The PCT has approved funding for a six-week pilot period for a locum consultant to cover Friday/Saturday nights between 10pm and 6am.

“Activity and performance will be closely monitored during this period to measure impact on the target.”

Stephen Campion, chief executive of the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, says a shortage of doctors is causing unnecessary strain on staff in many hospitals nationally.

He thinks too much focus is being put on targets, rather than patient need: “There is no doubt that A&E departments are struggling to make targets because the number of junior doctors has diminished.

“That means that more stress is pushed onto consultants to work more hours or come in on call, not because patients need it but because of targets – this is the wrong way to run A&E departments. It is a general malaise.

“For the PCT to understand the problem and offer funds is to be welcomed but if it is to simply meet a target, this is an abuse of consultants’ skills.”

lizawilliams