EXHAUSTED staff in Gloucestershire's emergency departments could start making mistakes – unless something is done to ease the pressure on them.
That is the fear of Dr Frank Harsent, chief executive of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who said A&E nurses and doctors were feeling the strain after a long, hard winter which has seen hospital attendances spiral.
A rise in admissions has led to staff in Accident and Emergency departments missing national standards for a four-hour waiting time.
Last month only 86.8 per cent of patients were seen within four hours compared to a national target of 95 per cent – a level not achieved since November.
Dr Harsent said ensuring something was done to improve emergency waiting times was of paramount importance.
"This is the most pressing issue the trust is facing," he said at a trust board meeting yesterday.
"This winter we are not yet out of is probably one of the worst I have experienced and we are not out of it yet.
"We've got to get some change before next winter which is only 20 weeks away.
"We all have to up our game.
"There has been a lot of pressure on our staff. We are seeing some evidence of rising sickness levels.
"The concern is this unrelenting pressure has been there for three going on four months.
"Staff have been fantastic but they are tired.
"If we are not careful it's tired staff who will make more mistakes. They've gone the extra mile, but they need some of this burden taken off them."