AN OXFORD hospital is considering ‘frailty units’ for elderly A&E patients in a bid to tackle the pressures on the emergency system.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) is struggling to meet the national target of 95 per cent of A&E patients seen within four hours.

A combination of staffing pressures, closed beds and lack of funds is affecting the trust’s performance to move people as quickly as possible out of A&E.

But medical director at OUH Dr Tony Berendt said the trust was looking into creating special area for elderly people to help ease the pressures on the emergency system.

He said: “We need a system that has the capacity to cope with the number of the frail and elderly patients coming to A&E and we are developing frailty units at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

“Unfortunately we are running between 80 and 100 beds less every day because we do not have the staff to safely keep them open.

“This is also on top of the 50 beds lost because of having to move patients out of the trauma unit.

“Of course patient safety remains a top priority for us, which is why we would never admit a patient when we do not have enough staff.

“But it means we have quite a significant delay in getting patients into hospital as quickly as possible and that has to have a knock on effect on the four hour A&E wait.”

Figures revealed during the Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board show how the trust only managed to see 82.7 per cent of patients within four hours in September.

For the year to date the trust is looking at only 84 per cent of residents being seen to in the time frame.

The early-stage plans follow a similar concept seen at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where the first A&E unit for elderly patients will be opened this month.

There, patients over 80 years old will be sent straight to the older people’s emergency department where they will be assessed more quickly to ensure they are given the right help, instead of enduring long stays in hospital.

It is expected that about 50 patients a day will be seen by the team at the Norfolk centre.

Chief Executive of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) David Smith said during the meeting: “It is very clear we have the emergency and urgent care system is under pressure, I do not think it is a surprise to anybody.

“There are critical issues facing the system: one is money, another issue is staffing and when we take all that together we are trying to do all we can around these targets but it is really, really difficult.”