A&E waits at Staffordshire's main hospital are the best they have been in nearly three years, new figures show.

But inspectors have raised concerns over the continuing use of corridor care at University Hospitals of North Midlands.

UHNM saw 70.18 per cent of emergency patients within four hours in March – up from 63.9 per cent in February. While this was short of the national target of 76 per cent, board members were told that it was the best four-hour performance by the trust since July 2021.

Managers said that 12-hour trolley waits and ambulance handover delays had also improved in March. The latest figures have been reported as the trust is awaiting the outcome of an unannounced inspection of the emergency department by the Care Quality Commission.

Concerns are still being raised about the continuing use of corridor care (SWNS).

One of the issues the inspectors looked at was the use of corridor care, which was reintroduced at the Royal Stoke in December 2022 as part of plans to reduce ambulance handover delays. UHNM chief executive Tracy Bullock told Wednesday's board meeting that it had been a positive visit by the CQC overall.

She said: "They were delighted that the staff were so positive and transparent. They said they were the most positive staff they had ever met.

"Clearly they are concerned about the fact that we are having to do corridor care. It's not unusual – it's in every organisation. They spent some time reviewing the patients on the corridor.

"We don't yet have a report from that visit. But I would say that the board share that concern in relation to corridor care, and it isn't something that we would want to be doing."

Corridor care was introduced in 2022 as a way of reducing ambulance handover delays (SWNS).

When asked about the trust's plan for eliminating corridor care, Ms Bullock said that work was continuing to provide additional beds, both within UHNM and the wider health system. Ms Bullock also said that the trust would continue to work towards hitting the four-hour A&E standard, which has now been raised to 78 per cent in 2024/25.

The original target, introduced in 2010, stated that trusts should aim to admit, transfer or discharge 95 per cent of patients within four hours. This was lowered to 76 per cent following the pandemic. Non-executive director Katie Maddocks suggested that, given the difficulty in hitting 76 per cent, the higher 78 per cent target appeared to be 'mission impossible'.

Ms Bullock said that UHNM had told NHS England that it would get to at least 70 per cent in March, and the trust would now look to build on that.

She said: "Seventy-eight per cent is a long way off what the target used to be. So I think we have to aim for that. We have to get back up to the standards we were achieving pre-Covid. That is a significant challenge for us.

The hospital saw over 70% of emergency patients within four hours in March (Image supplied).

"There is a sense that things are going in the right direction. Nationally, they were very positive about what we have been able to achieve given the current pressures that we've been working with."

Board members asked whether the recent improvement was due to any particular change, or if it was down to NHS England telling hospitals to hit the 76 per cent target by the end of March.

Deputy chief operating officer Katy Thorpe said: "There are a multitude of things, and I don't necessarily think it's the sword hanging over our heads. I think it's been down to a real focus on some of the work streams – a back to basics at ward level."

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