Worst ever winter for patients stuck in A&Es
THE crisis-hit NHS suffered its worst winter on record with nearly 200,000 patients waiting at least four hours in A&E, figures published yesterday revealed.
The number who suffered the lengthy waits increased five-fold in five years.
Between December 2016 and February this year, 195,764 patients waited at least four hours to be admitted to hospital, up from 40,791 in 2011/12. It is the highest figure since records began.
During the previous winter months 134,576 patients missed the four-hour target.
Dr Ian Campbell, a family doctor from Nottingham, said: “At some point we’re going to have to be up front about this. The NHS is failing. In 30 years I have never known it so bad.
“Despite what some politicians say this is not about restructuring the NHS, it’s about funding.
“Whether the focus is on queues at A&E, blocked beds on wards, poor provision of social care or GPs leaving in their droves, each impacts on the other.
“The only solution is real investment by government. Real money for a real crisis.”
Emergency admissions to NHS hospitals in England rose from 1.3 million in winter 2011/12 to 1.44 million in 2016/17. Extreme waiting times also reached record levels with almost 1,877 patients forced to wait at least 12 hours before being admitted to hospital from A&E.
The year before 375 people waited for 12 hours or more.
Cancer referral rates were at their second lowest level with 79.8 per cent of patients seen within 62 days of an urgent GP referral, below the health service benchmark of 85 per cent. The lowest recorded level was 79.7 per cent in January.
The Royal College of Surgeons said: “The NHS is under extreme pressure, trying to manage the huge financial strain while treating more and more patients.”