NHS in crisis: A&E waiting times in England hit record worst level
This is the worst three-month performance since the target was introduced in 2004
This is the worst three-month performance since the target was introduced in 2004
NHS A&E departments in England have once again failed to meet a target of seeing 95 per cent patients within four hours
NHS accident and emergency departments in England failed to meet a government target of seeing 95 per cent patients within four hours for the twentieth week in a row
As with NHS funding, the government’s claims on staffing require close scrutiny
Staff morale and patient care are suffering as the NHS heads for even more deficit
Around 7 per cent of patients had to wait in A&E for more than four hours at the end of last year – the worst figures since records were first collected in 2004/05.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has endorsed an article by the party’s health spokesperson which calls for people to be allowed to pay to skip A&E waiting times.
Last week I visited my GP surgery. After a much more protracted wait than any prior visit, I was given a homily about the state of the NHS, advised that it might be easier to seek a scan (already advised by another practitioner) through a private route.
“That is the most extraordinary speech I have heard from a secretary of state for Health in all my years in this House – this is the first speech in which a secretary of state has claimed he is not responsible for anything.”
The number of patients having to wait more than four hours in A&E has reached its highest level in nine years.