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Wait times at Winchester Hospital’s Emergency Department

Despite Boston area hospitals suffering from long wait times in their Emergency Departments, Winchester Hospital's is lower, at four hours. WINCHESTER NEWS STAFF PHOTO/JOYCE WESTNER

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With many stories in the news these days about how local hospitals are having trouble maintaining staff, and how emergency patients sometimes have to wait more than 24 hours to be seen, it’s bracing to know that Winchester Hospital is doing a far better job.

A February article in The Boston Globe reported that at Massachusetts General Hospital about 10% of patients waited more than 24 hours to be seen, and many patients couldn’t even get a bed while they waited.

But fortunately, three-quarters of Winchester Hospital patients were seen in less than four hours, with fewer than 2% having to wait more than a day. 

Lahey Hospital average wait times were a bit longer, possibly because their emergency department includes a trauma center for patients with life-threatening injuries. 

According to a Winchester Hospital spokesperson, “Over the course of several years, Winchester Hospital has been working to optimize throughput efforts, with the goal of effectively caring for our patients while working to minimize ED wait times as best as possible. We are committed to providing our patients with the best experience possible, including efficiently addressing the needs of patients who present to the emergency department so they get the right care at the right place.”

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