- A&E wait times concealed
- Over two-thirds face delays
- NHS targets temporarily reduced
Unpublished data reveals that official A&E wait times have been concealing lengthy delays for the sickest patients.
According to new NHS statistics, more than two-thirds of emergency hospital admissions require more than four hours to be admitted to a ward.
Selective Treatment and Discharge
Meanwhile, those with less severe conditions are treated and discharged expeditiously, improving the facility’s overall performance indicators.
This is because NHS England routinely publishes a combined figure for admitted and discharged patients instead of individual figures for each.
Reduced Targets Impacting Performance
The objective for emergency departments to admit or discharge patients within four hours is 95%. However, this target has been temporarily reduced to 76%, with the current national average at 70.2 percent.
However, according to new data released by NHS England by Freedom of Information legislation, 30 percent of emergency hospital admissions occurred within four hours.
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Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust documented an exceptional circumstance. Twelve percent of admitted patients spent four hours or less in A&E from April to June. This rate is among the most alarming in the nation.
Even with the relatively robust four-hour performance of 75.8 percent documented in the data.
As per an investigation by the Health Service Journal, Medway Foundation Trust disclosed a comprehensive percentage of 76.8%. But a mere 15.2% for patients admitted to a ward.
Criticism of NHS England’s Interim Target
Experts have raised concerns regarding the potential for NHS England’s interim target to cause prioritization distortions and disadvantage admitted patients.
The president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Adrian Boyle, stated that NHS England’s interim 76% target is “unambitious and drives inequitable care,” adding that patients who are forced to wait in A&Es for beds require “more focus.”
He stated that the majority of these patients have complex conditions and are geriatric or vulnerable.
Steve Black, an A&E data expert, warned that the 76% goal may be “too lax” to drive admitted patients to improve.
He stated, “At a four-hour performance standard of 95%, attaining it without a strong performance is difficult for the admitted, but this is not the case at 76%.”
“What we require is a general improvement for all patients, not just those who have been discharged.” Certain trusts are concealing their abysmal performance for admitted patients behind that national target.
NHS England stated that trusts are confronted with “record demand, high levels of bed occupancy, and thousands of beds occupied daily by patients who no longer require their services there; this is due in part to social care pressures.”
A spokeswoman further stated that A&E patients “are observed and cared for by clinicians before being admitted to a ward.”
Epsom and St Helier Trust reported high A&E attendance and bed obstruction due to delayed discharges in April–June. Furthermore, the statement continued that it is conducting efforts to enhance the efficacy of urgent care.
