"I went to this hospital after ..."

St George’s Hospital’s busy A&E Department currently sees more patients than ever before and treats at least 300 patients every day. Staff work extremely hard to make sure that no one waits longer than necessary, seeing almost 98 per cent of patients within the four hour target. Not only are numbers rising, but many of the illnesses and injuries the department treats are becoming more and more serious.

One of the main reasons for this increase in attendance figures is that St George’s is a centre of excellence, providing many specialist services not available at other hospitals, these services include trauma, cardiac and stroke. Due to our expertise, critically ill patients and complex cases are often rushed straight to St George’s to receive specialist care.

To make sure all A&E patients receive the best possible care, the service is constantly reviewing its working practices. In partnership with our local PCT, the Trust has agreed that non-emergency patients to other healthcare providers, such as GPs and walk-in centres. This allows staff to concentrate on those patients most in need.

Please remember, A&E’s main concern is to deal with those who are seriously injured or extremely ill. Before coming to A&E, please consider if another healthcare service, such as your local pharmacist, G/P or NHS Direct may be able to help you. Alternatively you may want to visit the Tooting NHS Walk-in Centre which is also located on the St George’s site or the minor injury unit at Queen Mary’s Hospital,Roehampton.