Health, News

Waiting times reduced at hospital by spotting trolley patients who are ‘fit to sit’

By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter

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Waiting times in accident and emergency at King’s Mill Hospital have been reduced by moving some less seriously ill people to chairs instead of trolleys in part of the department.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust’s executive board met today (June 5) to discuss its operational performance.

The trust runs King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, the largest hospital in Nottinghamshire outside of Nottingham city.

Managers assessed the effectiveness of a plan called ‘Fit2Sit’, which began in January.

The strategy has been introduced to tackle overcrowding and improve the flow of patients through the emergency department.

It involves medics identifying which patients need assessment but do not need to be lying down on a trolley while they wait.

A separate room within the emergency department has been set aside to hold 19 patients in seats as part of the scheme.

Speaking in a video explaining the plan, Julia Rose, Lead Nurse at Kings Mill’s A&E, said it has “dramatically reduced” overcrowding, especially in areas where patients are more seriously ill.

The waiting time for non-admitted patients to be seen in A&E has dropped by around 40 minutes since the change – down from 196 minutes to 150 minutes.

The average number of patients within the department’s majors area – where patients need more intensive treatment – has dropped from 61 to 35 – a 43 per cent reduction in crowding.

Fit2Sit has also helped ambulance handover times. A total of  89 per cent of patients are now offloaded by ambulance crews within 30 minutes of arrival – this was 80 per cent in December 2024.

Richard Kemp, Divisional Director of Nursing for Urgent and Emergency Care at the trust, told the board: “We can keep our clinicians in consulting rooms [and] keep patients due an assessment in a private area.

“If necessary with ongoing investigation, a patient can return to the waiting room while that happens, whereas all of those patients would have been in the majors space previously, contributing to the crowding in that area.”

A total of £12,556 was spent on Fit2Sit from money raised by the trust’s Daffodil Volunteers fund, including £5,000 awarded from a ‘Dragon’s Den’ initiative – which involves hospital staff pitching their own ideas to managers about how to solve problems.

Graham Ward, Chair of the board, said: “The biggest positive is this came from our staff, their idea, their approach to how we can improve our patient experience.”