A new study has led to warnings to ministers to think twice before scrapping the A&E waiting-time target. The new study found it had saved tens of thousands of lives.
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has hinted he could scrap the four-hour NHS target for emergency departments when a review by NHS England is published later this year.
An analysis by the think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, however, has found the target for patients to be seen, treated or discharged had saved as many as 15,000 lives a year.
A study by researchers at the IFS, Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute for Technology suggests the target has been particularly beneficial for patients with time-sensitive conditions, such as sepsis and stroke.
Full story in The Independent, 18 January 2020