Full Story in The HSJ 12 April 2018
NHS performance against the four hour accident and emergency target hit its lowest level in 15 years in March, with two trusts sinking below 50 per cent.
Long term A&E strugglers Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and Hillingdon Hospitals foundation trusts both recorded performance under 50 per cent for major “type one” emergency attendances last month (see second table).
NHS England’s data, released this morning, revealed that unusually, performance deteriorated from February to March. The NHS’s overall figure was 84.6 per cent – a small drop from the previous low of 85 per cent recorded in February. In March 2017, performance overall was 90 per cent.
Figures showed the A&E deterioration was matched in other areas including planned operations. The number of patients waiting over a year for treatment went over 2,000 for the first time since August 2012.
Just three non-specialist acute providers hit the 95 per cent A&E target in March: Luton and Dunstable University Hospital FT; North Tees and Hartlepool FT; and Dorset County Hospital FT.