FIFTH of hospitals are failing to treat their patients on time: 29 health trusts are missing A&E and cancer targets
- 29 of 157 hospital trusts and health boards have been missing targets for a year
- This includes 16 English hospitals and three health boards in Scotland
- Wales hasn’t hit its target for five years and all boards in N. Ireland are failing
- Experts warn the NHS is going into winter ‘on the back foot’
A fifth of NHS hospital trusts and health boards across the UK have been named and shamed for failing to hit their treatment waiting times for an entire year.
A&E, cancer treatment, and non-emergency surgery waiting time targets are being missed and keeping patients waiting all over Britain.
And all parts of the UK are failing to hit waiting time targets on a national level and haven’t met them for at least 12 months, figures have revealed.
The Royal College of Nursing today warned the health service is going into the winter ‘on the back foot’ because hospitals are already under so much pressure.
The NHS has failed to hit any of its national waiting time targets in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for A&E, cancer treatment or non-urgent surgery for more than a year
Figures analysed by the BBC have revealed the health service is not only struggling under pressure in the winter but is showing signs of strain all year round.
Nationwide, waiting time performance is the worst it has been since the targets were introduced 10 years ago.
‘We’ve all sadly become used to seeing TV pictures of patients waiting on trolleys in corridors in the cold winter months,’ said Dame Donna Kinnair, acting chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
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‘But trolley waits have now become a summer problem too.
‘This increased strain on the health service this summer will inevitably have a knock-on effect on services this winter, and means that the NHS is going into winter on the back foot.’
WHICH HOSPITALS AREN’T TREATING THEIR PATIENTS ON TIME?
England
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals
- Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals
- East and North Hertfordshire
- East Kent Hospitals
- Guy’s and St Thomas’
- Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals
- Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells
- Mid Essex Hospital Services
- Northern Lincolnshire & Goole
- Plymouth Hospitals
- Taunton and Somerset
- The Royal Wolverhampton
- United Lincolnshire Hospitals
- University College London Hospitals
- Worcestershire Acute Hospitals
Scotland
- Forth Valley
- Greater Glasgow and Clyde
- Lothian
Wales
- Cardiff and Vale
- Cwm Taf
- Anuerin Bevan
- Abertawe Bro Morgannwg
- Betsi Cadwaladr
Northern Ireland
- Belfast
- South Eastern
- Northern
- Southern
- Western
The health service is judged on the time it takes to treat patients in A&E, how long people have to wait for cancer treatment, and how long they have to wait for non-urgent surgeries like hip and knee replacements.
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all set their own targets for their branches of the NHS.
And the 29 hospital trusts and health boards failing to treat their patients on time have been named by the BBC.
The 16 out of 131 lagging behind in England are Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, East and North Hertfordshire, East Kent, Guy’s and St Thomas’, Hull and East Yorkshire, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, Mid Essex Hospital Services, Northern Lincolnshire & Goole, Plymouth, Taunton and Somerset, The Royal Wolverhampton, United Lincolnshire Hospitals, University College London Hospitals, and Worcestershire Acute.
In Scotland, the Forth Valley, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Lothian health boards all missed their targets, of a total 14 boards.
Five out of seven health boards in Wales missed their targets: Cardiff and Vale, Cwm Taf, Anuerin Bevan, Abertawe Bro Morgannwg and Betsi Cadwaladr.
And all five of the Northern Irish health trusts missed their targets: Belfast, South Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western.
On a national level, the performance has been worse.
The last time any British country hit their target was Scotland in August 2017, and Wales has failed to hit any of the three for at least five years.
The chief executive of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson said: ‘The pressure on A&E services and the knock-on impact this is having in other parts of the health and care system, coupled with higher levels of staff vacancies, will put services under significant strain this winter.’
Hospital leaders themselves have blamed rising numbers of patients.
Chief operation officer of Plymouth Hospitals – one of the 16 failing to hit targets – pointed the finger at ‘ever increasing demand’.
While the Royal Wolverhampton’s Gwen Nuttall added: ‘Our hospitals, along with others regionally and nationally, are incredibly busy.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Despite an extra 840,000 people going to A&E, hardworking NHS staff have seen nearly half a million more people within four hours over the last 12 months than compared to last year.
‘We have given the NHS £1.6billion this year to improve performance and cut waiting times, as well as £420million in additional winter support to redevelop A&Es, improve emergency care and help patients get home quicker.’
WHAT ARE THE NHS WAITING TIME TARGETS?
NHS waiting time targets vary depending on the branch of medicine and the country the trust is in.
Across the UK there is a universal target to see all patients in A&E – meaning they must be admitted to hospital or treated and discharged – within four hours.
And cancer patients in all four countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – are expected to be seen within 62 days of an urgent referral.
For non-emergency treatments, like hip and knee replacements, English and Scottish patients are supposed to be seen within 18 weeks. In Wales, the same patients are expected to be seen within 26 weeks.
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