"Mockery."

Dear Anonymous – thank you for taking the time and trouble to post your views on the A&E service at Frenchay hospital. We are always pleased to receive feedback and I am sincerely sorry that you had to wait for 7 hours for emergency care. This is certainly not the standard of care we would wish to deliver. Regrettably, as you may have seen in the national press, A&E departments are under extreme pressure to cope with the number of patients visiting the service. In addition cases are always seen in the order of clinical importance, and so if new patients arrive who need for medical reasons to be seen urgently, they have to be prioritised over less urgent cases. The target for all A&E departments within the NHS is to treat patients within 4 hours of attending. This is closely monitored by North Bristol Trust and over recent weeks this target has been achieved for approximately 90% of patients. Please note that over the same period Frenchay A&E has experienced record attendances, based on the figures since our records began; this illustrates why many departments up and down the country are struggling. It is unfortunate that the timing of your visit coincided with a particularly busy period, and that you had to wait so long to be seen. Please accept our apologies for the delay on behalf of the whole A&E team. Kind regards – Steve Sykes Advice and Complaints Team