NHS England plan could have ‘near catastrophic’ impact on patient safety, union says
NHS bosses are facing a backlash against plans to scrap a target to treat patients within four hours of arrival at A&E.
The body that represents A&E doctors said the move was an attempt to “bury problems” in the NHS. The proposal has sparked fears of a return to the days when some patients waited many hours in A&E to start treatment.
Dr Taj Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said: “In our expert opinion scrapping the four-hour target will have a near-catastrophic impact on patient safety in many emergency departments that are already struggling to deliver safe patient care in a wider system that is failing badly.
Full story on the Guardian, 29 January 2019