UK Health Radio Medical News Update on the Hour - Pressure on A&E continues

UK Health Radio Medical News Update on the Hour

As the pressure continues on the A&E departments in our towns and cities, the BBC have reported that the number of delays faced by ambulances when they arrive at A&E has doubled in a year, according to figures from NHS.

Rises were also reported in delayed discharges and cancelled operations in the past month, compared to a year ago.

Meanwhile new A&E waiting time figures show performance against the four-hour target has worsened in the New Year.

The last three months of 2014 as we have heard, had seen the worst waits for a decade.

On Tuesday figures showed 92.6% of patients were seen in four hours during the October-to-December quarter. The target is 95%.

The latest data covers the week up to Sunday and shows 86.7% of patients were seen in four hours.

Further analysis by the BBC of data released by NHS England has also found a number of other indicators are worsening.

Over the past four weeks, compared to the same period last year, the number of visits to A&E units has risen The number of waits above four hours for a bed to be found has risen. Nearly 38,000 ambulances faced delays of 30 minutes or more in handing patients over to A&E staff - more than double the figure the year before. Handovers should be completed in 15 minutes

Delayed discharges have risen by nearly a third, with more than 62,000 "bed days" lost owing to a lack of community support for frail and elderly patients

There were nearly 5,500 elective operations cancelled, up 62%

"The pressure has built across the system and is now spreading," said Dr Cliff Mann, president of the College of Emergency Medicine.

"We are seeing more patients come in and are struggling to get them through. This is going to persist for some time."

The figures come during a week in which a number of hospitals have declared "major incidents", leading to extra staff being called in to help them cope.

The latest waiting-time figure is the worst since weekly recording began in 2010.

The last four weeks have all been the four worst ever recorded.

Dr Sarah Pinto-Duschinsky, of NHS England, said: "The NHS continues to face unprecedented pressures on its frontline services.

"Flu is now at its highest peak for the last three winters. This means the NHS will continue to be under pressure for the next few weeks."

Dr Mark Porter, of the British Medical Association, said the pressures were "unprecedented".

The release of the data comes on the day the private firm Circle announced that it would be pulling out  of the contract that it has to run Hinchingbrooks Hospital in Cambridgeshire.   It was the first private firm to take over the running of an entire hospital when the contract started in 2012.

The firm blamed the rising pressures on the health system, including on A&E. The Department of Health said it was "disappointed" in the decision.

Amanda Thomas

UK Health Radio Medical News Update on the Hour

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