Number of A&E patients treated within four hours reaches lowest ever level

Statistics released on Thursday laid the full extent of the strain on the NHS
PA
Patrick Grafton-Green11 January 2018

The number of patients being treated in A&E departments within four hours has reached its lowest ever level, official figures show.

In England, just 77.3 per cent of patients at major A&E departments were treated within four hours during December.

This is worse than in December 2016 when 79.3 per cent of patients were seen and far fewer than the 95 per cent target, which has now not been met since July 2015.

Across all the country's A&Es, 85.1 per cent of patients were seen in four hours, equating to over 300,000 patients waiting longer than they should.

The statistics, released on Thursday, laid bare the full extent of the strain on the NHS as it was described as reaching a "watershed moment" by one health boss.

They were desribed by the Royal College of Surgeons as "disappointing".

Some 5,000 people had to wait over an hour to be seen in A&E departments in England in the first week of the year.

More than 16,600 people had to wait more than half an hour in A&E departments, NHS England said, as staff are faced with rising numbers of flu cases and respiratory illness, with 48 flu-related deaths in England so far this winter.

Of the 48 deaths, 24 were in the last week of 2017, the figures from Public Health England revealed.

A Royal College of Surgeons spokesman said: "It further demonstrates why it has been necessary to cancel patients' non-urgent procedures until the end of January.

"Despite the best efforts and dedication of NHS staff to treat patients quickly, waiting times for non-urgent care have also deteriorated again in the past year.

"Last week, NHS England advised that hospitals defer non-urgent inpatient planned care until the end of January and that day-case procedures and routine patient appointments should also be deferred where this will release clinical time for emergency care.

"Although this should help relieve some of the pressures on hospitals and avoid last-minute cancellations, it is a short-term solution and will cause huge disruption to those patients whose appointments and operations have been cancelled."

A letter written by the chief executive of NHS Providers - the trade body which represents NHS services - has called for the Government to commit to increasing the NHS budget to £153 billion by 2022/23.

Chris Hopson said investment on a long-term basis - and help with the immediate financial impact of "exceptional winter pressures" - was needed to address the "fragility of the wider NHS".

Mr Hopson said: "Despite planning for winter more thoroughly and extensively than before, it hasn't been sufficient. Rising numbers of flu cases and more respiratory illness have placed intolerable pressures on staff."

NHS England said figures for delayed transfers of care - when a patient is ready to leave a hospital - were lower than at the same point for any of the past four years.

Glen Garrod, vice president of the Association for the Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass), said this was "evidence that putting extra funding into social care, as the Government has done this year, can bear fruit".

"This also demonstrates the efforts of our resilient and highly dedicated frontline social care staff, who are doing a stellar job. Carers have been out in all weathers and recently have worked over the Christmas and New Year period, working hard to improve the lives of older people and adults of working age with disabilities," he added.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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