12 September 2019
Responding to the release of A&E performance figures for August, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Taj Hassan, said: “It’s worrying that we have not seen any respite, let alone signs of recovery, this summer in terms of performance.
“Four-hour performance at major departments has dropped by 5.6 percentage points compared to the same month last year, and the number of patients waiting over four-hours for a bed has gone up by 40%.
“While the recent spending review will help in the long term, it will not immediately undo the years of damage done by austerity. In the short-term hospitals – not just EDs – must do all they can to free up beds to prevent long corridor waits.
“Twelve-hour waits are over double what they were this time last year. However, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg due to how they are measured – from decision to admit the patient, and not from when they arrive.
“The ongoing review of targets must bring this metric in line with devolved nations to help us tackle this insidious problem for our patients; no-one should ever have to wait in a corridor for that long to be admitted.”
