Confederation calls for action on NHS performance

With the winter pressures continuing to bite in March, fuelled in part by an extended cold snap, the NHS faced increased demand in A&E departments. Figures released by NHS England showed there were more than 2 million attendances in March (230,000 more than in February). Attendances were 1.6% higher than in March 2017 and over the last 12 months rose by 2.2% compared with the previous 12-month period.
Overall, 84.6% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours – the lowest since collection of the data began. The target is 95% and was last met in July 2015.

Emergency admissions were 3.3% higher in March compared with the same month in 2017, while they were 3.7% higher in the last 12 months compared with the previous 12 months.

Higher demand was evident in elective care too. While the service completed almost half a million more referral to treatment pathways in February compared with February 2017, the proportion of patients waiting more than 18 weeks increased – just over 12% compared with 10% in February 2017.

However, there was a continued improvement in delayed transfers of care, with councils and NHS organisations working hard to discharge patients when appropriate. In January this year there were around 152,000 delayed days, but this fell to just under 140,000 in February. However, the proportion of delays attributable to the NHS increased.

NHS Confederation chief executive Niall Dickson (pictured) said the figures for A&E and emergency admissions were ‘startling’. He continued: ‘Our staff perform miracles every day but too many patients are being let down by an understaffed and underfunded system. And it is not just in A&E departments, the whole system – from family doctors and community services to mental health and social care – is struggling to cope.’

The service deserved credit for the planning for the winter and had been supported by the ‘incredible efforts’ of staff. But he added: ‘These are not just statistics – behind the numbers are thousands of patients who are suffering, some of them with serious consequences. We must not let this performance become the norm.

‘The immediate and enormous challenge remains and we need to prevent this torrid winter rolling on to become a summer of misery.’

NHS Providers’ head of analysis Phillippa Hentsch said the figures underlined the urgency of the problems facing the NHS.

‘They reflect the continued severe winter pressures we saw in March. But they also highlight the fundamental lack of capacity – in terms of beds and staff – to meet the standards expected of the NHS, and that trusts and frontline staff want to deliver,’ she added.