Deficit fears as demand rockets at A&E units

A QUARTER of a million more people visited A&E this summer compared to the same period last year, figures show.

There were 940 more emergency admissions a day between July and September compared to the same time last year, with a total of 6.18m people visiting A&E during the quarter – equating to 252,360 (4.3 per cent) more than the same period last year.

The high A&E demand meant that people had to wait longer for planned treatment, NHS Improvement said. In its report on the performance of the NHS provider sector, it said the number of people waiting more than a year for treatment at the end of September was 3,156, compared to 1,778 for the same period last year.

The sector was £1.23bn in deficit at the end of September, largely due to the increase in demand. Trusts have identified further savings they can make throughout the year and are therefore planning to end the year £80m better off than they were at the start of the financial year, the report added.

At the end of the year, the sector forecasts a deficit of £558m, NHS Improvement – which is responsible for overseeing foundation trusts, NHS trusts, and independent providers that provide NHS-funded care – said.

As reported last quarter, the sector’s “underlying deficit” has been said by trusts to be £4.3bn.

The report also found that NHS staff treated more emergency patients within the four-hour A&E standard – 5.52m patients, compared with 5.34m for the previous quarter.

There have been concerns from medics that problems getting GP appointments has led to rise in attendance at A&E units.

Meanwhile, the number of vacancies for doctors and nurses across NHS trusts fell to 102,821 in September, from 107,463 at the end of June.