24 hour wait for patient at Peterborough City Hospital's A&E

New figures published by the NHS for 2016/17 show the patient was waiting two minutes short of a day to be taken to the correct ward for treatment.

In another case a patient was waiting more than 23 hours at the hospital’s Emergency Department but was not admitted to a ward.

The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said it cannot comment on individual cases. But chief operating officer Neil Doverty said: “As a trust we have been working hard to reach the national standard to ensure that our patients are seen quickly and transferred onto the right pathway.

“Unfortunately, in some instances we haven’t been able to achieve this and this is a picture that is reflected nationally.

“We are unable to comment on individual cases, however sometimes a patient with complex needs may stay in the Emergency Department for long periods of time while we arrange for additional clinical expertise from specialties to meet the needs and coordinate the best care for that individual.”

The trust was asked if it had done everything it could to limit the patient’s wait to be admitted, or if lessons had needed to be learned.

A trust spokeswoman said it could not go into any more detail without risking breaching patient confidentiality.

During 2016/17 80.1 per cent of patients were treated or admitted at the hospital’s Emergency Department within four hours, compared to the target of 95 per cent, with the trust seeing 40 per cent more activity in its Emergency Department than in 2010/11.

Mr Doverty added: “We are also trying to alleviate long waiting times by diverting appropriate patients to our Ambulatory Care Unit. Our Medical Assessment Unit and Medical Short Stay ward provide beds for patients who only require short-term treatment and do not need to be admitted into hospital.”