A&E waiting times at lowest level in a decade after missing four-hour target
- 13.11.2015
- HannahBottomley
- Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion
I was disappointed this morning to read the many news items commenting on the fact that the NHS has missed its four-hour A&E waiting time target for the past three months resulting in the lowest performance level since the target was introduced at the end of 2004.
Many of the articles, including this BBC article, noted that between January and March 2015 just 91.8% of patients were seen in the first four hours after arriving in A&E.
In addition to the long waits in A&E, the recent data also indicated that there were long waits in other parts of the hospital system with over 113,000 of those admitted to hospital for further treatment from A&E waiting over four hours for a bed.
This is a matter which I have commented on previously as, over the winter months, many A&E departments were also unable to meet the targets.
The waiting times will of course be frustrating to patients but, for us here at PotterReesDolan, the concern is that patients who require time sensitive treatment may not be receiving it resulting in further injury or worsening of symptoms.