Record number of people waiting at least four hours in A&E, NHS England data shows

Published

2 years ago

November 10, 2022

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A record number of people were left waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission in A&E, NHS England figures show.

The number waiting reached a peak of 150,922 in October, up from 131,861 the previous month.

More than 30% of people had to wait over four hours to be seen in A&E in October, including 45% of people attending Major A&Es (excluding minor injuries units and specialist centres).

The operational standard is that at least 95% of patients attending A&E should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, but this has not been met nationally since 2015.

The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments in England from a decision to admit to actually being admitted has also risen to a new record high.

New NHS England data shows that 43,792 people waited longer than 12 hours in October, up 34% from 32,776 in September and the highest number in records going back to August 2010.

It comes as the number of people in England waiting to start routine hospital treatment has risen to a new record high.

A total of 7.1 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of September, NHS England said.

This is up from 7.0 million in August and is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

Meanwhile, 401,537 people have been waiting longer than a year to start hospital treatment, up from 387,257 at the end of August and equivalent to around one in 18 people on the entire waiting list.

Very long waits of more than two years have fallen slightly, while the number of people waiting 18 months for treatment has dropped by almost 60% in one year, NHS England said.

The rate cancer patients in England saw a specialist within two weeks of seeing their GP has also slumped to an all time low.

Data shows 251,977 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in September, but only 72.6% were seen within the two week timeframe.

It also showed that nearly 6,000 cancer referral patients waited more than two months to be seen by a specialist.

Ambulance waiting times were also a long way outside their targets, with the average response time to people with life-threatening injuries outside London clocking in at nine minutes 56 seconds, almost three minutes over the target time of seven minutes.

Figures also revealed the number of people in England waiting longer than six weeks for a key diagnostic test has risen to the highest level in two years.

Some 463,930 patients – 29.8% of the total – had been waiting longer than six weeks for one of 15 standard tests in September, including MRI scans, non-obstetric ultrasound or gastroscopies.

This is up from 461,400 the previous month and the highest number since August 2020 when 472,517 patients had been waiting longer than six weeks.

Analysis

The figures are stark. There is no other way to say it.

Even gains made in previous months are reversing or slowing down.

And the worrying thing is as it gets busier we are still nowhere near peak winter.

Covid, flu and A&E attendances are driving the pressure according to the NHS.

They say last month was exceptionally busy and that is reflected in the record waiting times right across the board from ambulance attendances, A&E waiting times and trolley waits.

There are more people going into hospital than leaving. The lack of social care provision is why.

So as winter really starts to bite that pressure and those waiting times are only going to rise to more record highs.

Add to the mix the impending nurses strike. We don’t know when or how many days but any operations, procedures and appointments that have to be cancelled will have to be rescheduled.

And that, again, means lists grow. And it is not just nurses who are taking industrial action.

The unions for non-clinical staff who work in hospitals, the army of people that make these buildings work, are balloting their members too.

NHS medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “There is no doubt October has been a challenging month for staff, who are now facing a tripledemic of Covid, flu and record pressure on emergency services with more people attending A&E or requiring the most urgent ambulance callout than any other October.

“Pressure on emergency services remains high as a result of more than 13,000 beds taken up each day by people who no longer need to be in hospital.

“But staff have kept their foot on the accelerator to get the backlog down, with 18-month waiters down by three-fifths on last year.

“We have always said the overall waiting list would rise as more patients come forward, and, with pressures on staff set to increase over the winter months, the NHS has a plan – including a new falls service, 24/7 war rooms, and extra beds and call handlers.”

UK

Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Published

5 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

UK

Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week’s council elections

Published

9 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.

“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.

However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.

“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”

She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”

A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.

It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.

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UK

Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

Published

17 hours ago

April 27, 2025

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.

Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.

Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.

The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.

“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.

“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”

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