MPs and councillors have said they are keeping a close eye on an accident and emergency department after it was rated one of the worst in the country by patients.

Barnet Hospital’s casualty unit received a rating of 15 out of 100 in the Friends and Family survey released yesterday, ranking it 192 out of 200 for patient satisfaction.

Councillor Helena Hart, who is responsible for public health at Barnet Borough Council, said the results of the survey were “extremely concerning.”

She added: “We need to make sure that everything possible is being done to redress the situation.

“I have therefore been in contact with John Morton of the Clinical Commissioning Group, which commissions services from Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital, who also shares my concerns.

“He has already escalated the regular formal quality reviews they have with Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital due to the unacceptably high waiting times at Barnet A&E and will be keeping a close watch on the situation at both hospitals.” 

She said the building work being carried out as part of the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy, which includes closing Chase Farm A&E and transferring some services to Barnet, was part of the problem.

Cllr Hart, who represents Edgware, said: “We should of course be able to get a far clearer and hopefully improved picture of A&E services once the new extended A&E Department at Barnet is up and running with the requisite increase in both facilities and staff.”

The MP for Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers also said pressing on with the improvements and expansion of Barnet Hospital’s A&E was “essential”.

She added: “I fully understand the concerns about A&E at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital, which was why I visited Barnet A&E on Saturday night to discuss the situation with managers, doctors and patients.

“Like many other hospitals Barnet is under pressure because more and more people are coming to A&E.

“We need to recognise the hard work that doctors and nurses in A&E do in caring for patients, but clearly there is more work to be done to improve services and respond to the concerns of local people.”

However Barnet Borough Council’s Labour group spokesman for health Cllr Barry Rawlings questioned whether, in the light of these figures, the hospital would be able to cope with the increased pressures resulting from expansion.

He said: “The Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy has not been updated to take in new factors such as population growth and the added pressures on accident and emergency.

“There is a worry that the expanded A&E, which is already struggling, will be unable to meet the demand.”

Cllr Rawlings suggested the hospital trust perhaps thought things might improve once the building work was finished, but this attitude failed to address the main issue.

The representative for Coppetts Ward added: “It’s not bricks and mortar that make a hospital but staff satisfaction and the culture inside the hospital.

“The survey shows other A&E departments across the country are getting it right, why isn’t Barnet Hospital?

“I hope the new Friends and Family survey provides more transparency and ensures patient concerns are heard. The important thing is not to provide a snapshot.

“We need to know what the health authority intends to do to ensure patients feel safe and secure.”