Major hospitals have missed A&E targets every week for six months, warns Labour


  • Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham claims some AEs are only seeing 70% patients within four hours
  • The target is to see 95% of patients in this time 
  • Warning comes after one hospital was forced to erect an emergency tent outside because of overcrowding

By
Emma Innes

08:20 EST, 3 April 2013

|

13:16 EST, 3 April 2013

Andy Burnham says that across England major AE units are failing to meet the target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours

Andy Burnham says that across England major AE units are failing to meet the target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours

Many major hospitals have missed their national accident and emergency target every week for the last six months, it has been claimed.

Andy Burnham, the Shadow Health Secretary, said that major AE units across England have failed to meet the target of seeing 95 per cent of patients within four hours.

This has been the case every week since late September.

His claims come after one AE department in Norfolk was this week forced to erect an emergency tent outside because it was so overcrowded.

Mr Burnham said new data from NHS England shows the 95 per cent target has been missed across the NHS, with less than 70 per cent of patients being seen within four hours at some trusts.

He said that compared to last year, 107,000 more patients have had to wait longer than four hours.

‘Standards of care are deteriorating in many parts of the country as the NHS is dragged down by David Cameron’s toxic mix of cuts and re-organisation,’ said Mr Burnham.

‘England’s AE departments are suffering their worst winter for a decade, with thousands more people waiting longer to be seen across the country.

‘The NHS has failed to hit the target almost the entire time Jeremy Hunt has been Health Secretary. He urgently needs to get a grip and focus on what matters.

‘Almost 5,000 nursing jobs have been lost since David Cameron entered Downing Street. Ministers must develop a plan to bring all AEs in England back up to national standards.’

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: ‘The NHS is seeing an extra one million patients in AE compared to two years ago and despite the additional workload it is coping well.

‘Patients shouldn’t face excessive waits for treatment, which is why we provided £330 million to help the NHS cope with the extra pressure the cold weather brings.

‘The Government is meeting its promise to deliver a real terms increase in health spending and there are now 7,000 more professionally qualified clinical staff in the NHS since 2010. In contrast, the number of admin staff has fallen by over 18,000, and the money saved put back into frontline patient care.’

On Monday, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's AE department became so overcrowded that it was forced to erect an emergency treatment tent

On Monday, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital’s AE department became so overcrowded that it was forced to erect an emergency treatment tent

Mr Burnham’s comments come just after
it emerged that patients in Norfolk faced the prospect of being treated
in a tent on Monday after an AE department became overcrowded.

A treatment tent, usually reserved for use during major emergencies, was erected outside Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital as a precaution but it was not needed to treat patients.

One ambulance crewman said: ‘We are so fed-up with getting slated and being made to look as if the ambulance service is to blame for the delays – but it’s not us, it’s AE.

‘They want to get out and save lives. That’s all they want to do and they are getting caught up in a political row.

‘The tent is usually used at plane crashes and big events, such as the Lord Mayor’s parade. To put it up outside the AE is unheard of.’

Another ambulance worker, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘It’s a mini-hospital in a tent.’

‘It will usually have in it treatment bays, drugs, oxygen, the same stuff on board an ambulance but inside a tent – which is a lot colder.’

Hospital chief executive Anna Dugdale said: ‘The demand on emergency services over the bank holiday weekend had been exceptionally high and the ambulance tent was erected for a short period as a precautionary measure.’

The comments below have not been moderated.

Was it not, Liarbours target led and box ticking culture, that led to over 1200 needless deaths at the Mid Stafforshire Health Trust????????

Dougie
,

Doncaster,
03/4/2013 23:57

Burnham, it was you and Labour’s obsession with targets that caused the hideous spectacle of Staffordshire and numerous other lack of care issues throughout the NHS. Your targets took over from common sense, common decency and care.I dread the day if Labour ever again get responsibility for our NHS.

Alan
,

Manchester,
03/4/2013 23:44

OK missed targets, how about cut backs, no pay rises reduction in staff, staff moving to the private sector due to no pay rises, to many managers not enough doctors and nurses, and you are suprised targets in AE’s are being missed….

PJShrop
,

Shropshire,
03/4/2013 22:24

Surprise surprise NHS not hitting targets. Useless government targets not being met.

nemo
,

broken Britain,
03/4/2013 21:52

Targets have their place and the NHS is not an institution that should have the pressure of such unrealistic targets. See 95% of patients within 4 hours? How ridiculous. The amount of people that go to emergency departments when home treatment or a visit to the walk in centre, GP or pharmacist would do is absolutely ridiculous. It might help if emergency departments weren’t being closed down.

NWMF
,

Dudley, United Kingdom,
03/4/2013 21:33

I thought that the target culture – aka Nicholson (still in post) – had now been dismissed.

agp1337
,

Christchurch,
03/4/2013 21:29

With Labours record in office they can’t criticise anyone else’ The mess they left with throwing money at things with no idea how it was spent says it all. Bankrupt Britain.

allangre
,

Mansfield,
03/4/2013 21:21

Was he not in charge at the time of the Sheffield debacle? What’s his problem?

John
,

Perthshire,
03/4/2013 21:16

Andy Burnham = Liverpool Pathway… go away Burnham.

Captain Calamity
,

Whitehaven, United Kingdom,
03/4/2013 21:09

Hate “targets” – those belong in sales or on the shooting range. Yes, it’s terrible to have to wait but put yourself in the shoes of the patient who gets hurried along and shoved out the door or gets a half done op just so someone can meet the government target and so the ridiculously high numbered management tier and government number crunchers can pat themselves on the backs after making lovely PowerPoint presentations with great stats and graphs!

Scottish lass
,

Italy,
03/4/2013 21:04

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