NHS bosses are considering a shake-up of A&E care that could lead to patients with only minor ailments no longer being guaranteed that they will be treated within four hours.
Under the plans being examined, people with non-urgent medical needs would be advised to seek help at a GP surgery, walk-in centre or pharmacy instead – or face a long wait in A&E.
Senior figures in the NHS are also looking at bringing in extra targets to complement the four-hour waiting time standard under which the most urgent cases are seen within an hour.
Full story in The Guardian, 2 December 2018