In the wake of a number of reports highlighting a crisis in emergency care, there has been heated debate over the reasons for missed waiting targets and increasing attendance in A&E.
While NHS England attempts a rescue plan in the short-term, a long-term strategy is now under development by Sir Bruce Keogh. LOUISE FRAMPTON reports.
The latest figures from The King’s Fund show that 313,000 patients (nearly 6%) waited four hours or longer in A&E departments, in the period January to March 2013. According to the report (published in June, this year), this represents an increase of nearly 40% on the same quarter in 2011/12. This means that, across the quarter as a whole, the Government’s target that no more than 5% of patients should wait longer than four hours in A&E was missed for the first time since the Prime Minister pledged to keep A&E waiting times low in June 2011.1 Nearly 40% of Trusts reported breaches in the target, an increase of 50% on the previous quarter. Data also shows that the proportion of patients waiting longer than four hours before being admitted from A&E to hospital – so-called trolley waits – rose to almost 7%, also the highest level since 2004. While more recent data shows that A&E and trolley waits have since fallen back to pre-winter levels, this analysis confirms the severe strain on emergency care in early 2013 and the risk that performance could deteriorate again next winter.1 Commenting on the report, John Appleby, chief economist at The King’s Fund, said: “Emergency care acts as a barometer for the NHS. The worryingly high number of patients waiting longer than four hours in the last quarter of 2012/13 is a clear warning that the health system is under severe strain.”
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