A&E Waiting Times Continue To Worsen

8 August 2019, 11:10 | Updated: 8 August 2019, 11:13

National statistics show that 86.5% of A&E patients were seen within four hours last month - a statistic which failed to meet the NHS target of 95%.

The number of A&E patients seen within four hours is down by 3% on July last year, when 89.4% of patients were seen within the time frame.

The NHS England target of seeing 95% of patients within four hours has not been hit for four years since July 2015.

In June this year England's A&E departments recorded their worst June performance since current records began, with just 86.4% of patients seen within four hours.

The Monthly A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions collection collects the total number of attendances in the calendar month for all A&E types.

This includes Minor Injury Units and Walk-in Centres, and of these, the number discharged, admitted or transferred within four hours of arrival.

Boris Johnson recently promised £1.8 billion extra funding for NHS hospitals and said the money will be used to buy vital new kit and secure upgrades for 20 hospitals across the country.

On Wednesday Mr Johnson visited Boston's Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire, which will get £21.3 million to boost emergency A&E care by improving patient flow and reducing waiting times

The new chief executive at Leighton Hospital in Chesire believes there must be a cash boost for its A&E – or it will stop being fit for purpose.

Leighton has failed to hit the national target of 95% of patients being seen within four hours at A&E in every month since August 2017 – scoring 80.63% in June.

Dorset County Hospital's A&E department says it is only to be used in life-threatening situations and those who turn up "inappropriately" may be turned away.

People are encouraged to help reduce unnecessary pressures on urgent care services by choosing the right care for their needs.

On Wednesday an MP for Canterbury and Whitstable described the "dire state" of emergency healthcare in east Kent after she witnessed the "desperate" situation in an under-pressure A&E centre.

Rosie Duffield MP says she was shocked to see the problems first hand and is demanding extra funding to help ease the strain.

On Monday a closure consultation on the A&E department in Cheltenham was "temporarily paused" following an outcry.