Oldham hospital A&E waits hit 6 days as 9,600 stuck 24+ hours

Patients at Royal Oldham Hospital are facing A&E waits of up to six days as new figures reveal a crisis in emergency care. Nearly 10,000 people were stuck in A&E for at least 24 hours last year at the Northern Care Alliance trust, which runs Oldham's hospital along with sites in Rochdale, Salford and Fairfield. The longest wait was 146 hours-more than six days-as the trust saw a 25% rise in extended A&E waits compared to the previous year.

Councillor Howard Sykes, who represents the Liberal Democrats in Oldham, obtained the figures through a Freedom of Information request. He described the situation as 'spiralling out of control' and warned that patients across the borough are enduring 'agonisingly long hours' waiting for care. The Northern Care Alliance trust had the second-worst A&E waits in England, behind only Liverpool's University Hospital trust.

The Northern Care Alliance declined to comment on the figures when approached by the Oldham Times. The Department of Health acknowledged the problem, saying winter preparations had improved A&E times for most patients but that 'there's a long way to go' to address the longest waits. The crisis has been building for a decade, with officials admitting that nobody should have to wait this long in emergency care.

Sykes is calling for bolder government action, including a wait time guarantee to give patients confidence that trusts can bring the situation under control. He wants changes to the law so the government can be held accountable if A&E waits continue to spiral. The figures paint a stark picture of an NHS struggling to cope with demand, leaving Oldham patients facing potentially dangerous delays in emergency care.