A&E waiting time at eight-year peak (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

A&E waiting time at eight-year peak

7:37am Thursday 31st May 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

The number of patients facing waiting times of more than four hours in England's accident and emergency units has reached an eight-year peak, according to a study.

NHS performance data revealed that the proportion of people facing the lengthy wait for treatment has increased by more than a quarter, reaching its highest level since 2004.

The King's Fund report showed that 4.2% of A&E patients waited longer than four hours from January to March, compared with 3.4% in the same period last year. Its authors said the increase was a cause for concern and reflected growing pressures on the hospital sector.

On a national level the Government's target that no more than 5% of patients face more than a four-hour wait in A&E was met last year, the think-tank's quarterly monitoring report found. But 48 NHS providers breached the threshold in the final quarter of last year compared with 18 in the second quarter.

The King's Fund said the rise coincides with emerging evidence of increases in "trolley waits" as some hospitals struggle to find beds for patients.

Data obtained from 60 NHS finance directors as part of the study also revealed that 40% of trusts did not meet their productivity targets in 2011/12.

John Appleby, chief economist at the King's Fund, said: "Overall, the NHS continues to perform well, despite the spending squeeze. However, this masks growing pressures in hospitals and significant performance issues in some NHS organisations.

"Given the strength of the political commitment to keep waiting times low, the steep rise in A&E waits will be a concern for the Government. The productivity challenge will only get harder, so evidence that large numbers of NHS organisations failed to meet their productivity targets last year does not bode well."

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "The King's Fund report is wrong to suggest the proportion of people 'waiting' more than four hours to be seen in A&E is growing. This measure records the total time people spend in the department, including the time they are being treated; it does not just measure waiting.

"People are waiting on average only 49 minutes for their treatment to start. In addition, the NHS has continued to meet or exceed the target of 95% of patients spending a total time of four hours or less in A&E."