CQC report shows A&E staff maintained high standards of care despite challenges throughout 2022

25 July 2023

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has responded to the findings of the CQC’s National Urgent and Emergency Care Survey 2022.

The survey, which was published today (25 July), found:

71% of respondents said they had confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses examining them, down from 77% in 2020 and 76% in 2018
8% of respondents said they did not have confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses examining them, up from 5% in 2020
23% of respondents stated they waited 0-15 minutes before they first spoke to a nurse or doctor, this is down from 36% in 2020 and 32% in 2018
32% of respondents stated they waited more than 60 minutes before they first spoke to a nurse or doctor, up from 15% in 2020 and 19% in 2018
15% of respondents stated that their overall length of visit to A&E was more than 12-hours, more than doubling from 6% in both 2020 and 2018.

Commenting on the findings, RCEM President Dr Adrian Boyle said:

“These results give a view of Urgent and Emergency healthcare through the eyes of the patient and reflect the challenges medical professionals working in Urgent and Emergency Care experience every day.

“Every clinician wants to provide the best care possible. No-one wants patients to have to wait excessive amounts of time to be treated, or for that treatment to be administered in an environment – such as a corridor – which lacks privacy.

“This data reinforces that, despite experiencing the most challenge year on record for the NHS, Urgent and Emergency Care staff are still managing to provide high standards of care and treatment to their patients. But this is despite of, not because of the wider system.

“Our members, and their patients, deserve better and we continue to urge the government to adopt our five priorities to #ResuscitateEmergencyCare so everyone’s experience of Urgent and Emergency Care is improved.”

Notes to Editor

The CQC Urgent and Emergency Care Survey 2022 also found:

76% of respondents were not informed how long they would have to wait to be examined
73% of respondents felt that doctors and nurses ‘definitely’ listened to them, compared with 79% in 2020 and 78% in 2018
45% of respondents stated that if they needed attention, they were able to get a member of medical or nursing staff to help them, down from 58% in 2020 and 57% in 2018
16% of respondents stated that if they needed attention, they weren’t able to get a member of medical or nursing staff to help them, up from 9% in both 2020 and 2018
78% of respondents reported that they were given enough privacy when being examined or treated, down from 84% in 2020 and 83% in 2018
72% of respondents reported they felt they were treated with respect and dignity while in A&E, down from 81% in 2020 and 79% in 2018
17% of respondents that they were not given enough privacy when discussing their condition with the receptionist, up from 10% in both 2020 and 2018.
9% of respondents said they thought the Emergency Department was not very clean or not at all clean, compared with 4% in 2020 and 5% in 2018.
There was a decline in the number of people who said if they had any anxieties or fears about their condition or treatment, a doctor or nurse in the Emergency Department ‘completely’ discussed this with them – falling from 51% in 2020 to 48% in 2022.
Only 57% of patients said that they were ‘definitely’ involved as much as they wanted to be in decisions about their care and treatment in 2022 – compared to 63% who said this in 2020 and 65% who said this in 2018.
While they were waiting only 44% were able to get help with their conditions or symptoms from a member of staff, compared to 55% in 2020.