Western Sussex found February tough month for A&E

It recorded its worst performance against the four hour waiting target during 2011-12, falling below the 95 per cent target for the first time in the financial year, according to latest board papers. This in turn brought down the average for the quarter.

The trust said the month of February had seen “unprecedented levels of activity across trust and the county of Sussex”.

The papers stated: “The Accident and Emergency service had been particularly busy such that compliance with the four-hour target had reduced to 92.1 per cent for the month and 93.69 per cent for the quarter.

“Additional focus had been applied such that performance had improved to 98.48 per cent for March to date and 95.25 per cent for the quarter to date. Activity remained high, though not at the levels experienced in the previous month.”