The latest NHS performance data published today (Thursday, 11 May) shows, among other things:
- There were 113,000 four-hour delays from decision to admit to admission, with 26,900 over 12 hours.
- The number of referral to treatment (RTT) patients waiting to start treatment at the end of March 2023 was 7.3 million.
- The total number of patients waiting six weeks or more from referral for one of the 15 key diagnostic tests at the end of March was 407,200 which is 25% of the total number of patients waiting against an operational standard of less than 1% of patients waiting six weeks or more.
- 74.6% of patients were seen within four hours in all emergency departments in April 2023 and 60.9% in type 1 emergency departments.
Commenting on the data, Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The NHS urgent and emergency care system remains under immense strain and current performance trends show we are heading for a winter period as severe as 2022.
“This is deeply concerning as the recovery plan set out by NHS England for urgent and emergency care is lagging behind where it should be.
“There also remains an essential need to increase capacity which is simply not happening quickly or effectively enough.
“Despite many patients receiving good care thanks to the outstanding efforts of NHS staff, the constraints colleagues are working under means increasing numbers have a poor experience with unacceptable corridor care still routinely happening on a day-to-day basis.
“The small improvement in the four-hour standard reflects the immense efforts of staff and operational colleagues, but this still reflects patient experience well below that which we hope to deliver.
“This continues to cause harm to patients as well reducing morale for staff striving to do their best and the latest data illustrates this further with simply far too many patients who need an urgent bed waiting longer than 12 hours in an emergency department. This number continues to rise compared to this time last year.
“This is increasingly accepted and perceived as being normal: it isn’t and it is not safe. The “eternal winter” picture needs to be reversed.
“Delays in the recovery of urgent and emergency care must be prioritised urgently and, likewise, the NHS workforce plan and 10-year urgent and emergency care recovery plan must be published without delay.
“We will reiterate this until we see firm action – we must not wait until the middle of winter in a chaotic and dangerous situation until recognising the crisis we are in.
“These need to be comprehensive in their ambitions to demonstrate to colleagues there light at the end of tunnel and ensure a belief among patients that services will deliver the standards they desire and deserve.
“On current trajectory we are heading for even more troubled times across the NHS and, while it is still possible to change this, the window of opportunity is becoming increasingly narrow.”