Key measures of NHS services in England have continued to decrease, prompting warnings that providers are increasingly struggling to deliver services.
The performance figures for July 2016 show that there were 2,075,939 attendances at A&E, 6.3% more than at the same point in 2015, and only 90.3% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. The target for this key performance measure is 95%, which the NHS has now not met in over a year. It is also a small decrease from last month, when it was at 90.5%.
Siva Anandaciva, head of analysis at NHS Providers, said: “We are becoming increasingly worried about this continuing deterioration in performance. The summer is usually a quieter time for the NHS but these figures show the strain is being felt by NHS trusts all year round.
“We are heading towards a winter of discontent, with this relentless cycle of record high A&E attendances, increasing emergency admissions and greater numbers of patients who cannot be discharged because the services they need in the community are not being properly resourced. This is really taking its toll on NHS services and health care staff.
Full story in National Health Executive 8 September 2016