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Wait for admission to emergency departments at record high

NHS England figures reveal 1,000 people waited over 12 hours to be admitted to emergency departments.
Waiting times

Record numbers of people have been waiting over 12 hours to be admitted to emergency departments in England, new figures show

Waiting times
Picture: iStock

The statistics, from NHS England reveal that in January almost 1,000 people waited over 12 hours compared to just 158 in January last year.

In another record high, a total of 79,545 people were kept waiting more than four hours to be admitted.

Cancer treatment

The number of people waiting more than two months to start cancer treatment after an urgent referral hit a new high of 2,437, or roughly one in five of patients seen by GPs.

Research by Macmillan Cancer Support shows that nearly 64% of people recently diagnosed with cancer in England have experienced feelings of anxiety, fear or depression while waiting for their treatment to start.

Meanwhile delayed transfers of care, also known as bed-blocking, were the second-highest on record.

The total number of hospital days lost through delayed transfers were 197,054, up by almost one quarter since January last year.

Budget measures

In his spring budget chancellor Philip Hammond announced a new £100 million fund for triage projects in emergency departments, which he said would have an effect on waiting times.

However, RCN general secretary Janet Davies said the extra support for experienced clinicians to triage patients was a ‘sticking plaster’.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: 'NHS staff have worked exceptionally hard this winter and, despite the additional pressure, treated more than 1.6 million people in A&E within four hours in January.

'We have however seen a number of unacceptable cases of poor performance and patient care that cannot be repeated.

'That's why NHS England has today launched a plan to get hospitals back on track to meet the 95% standard, supported by the budget announcements of £100 million for A&E and the £2 billion social care funding that will help to improve hospital discharge.'


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