RCEM raises concern over increasing four hour A&E waits

According to data from the Department of Health (DH), the number of patients waiting four or more hours at A&E has risen more than 300 per cent at some hospitals.

The Royal College for Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has raised concern over the figures and warned there is a 'large and systemic problem' caused by a lack of hospital beds.

The statistics showed that in total 2.2 million patients were not seen within the target time in 2015-16 - more than double the one million figure in 2013-2014.

The data also revealed that there had been 1,271 A&E waits which lasted more than 12 hours.

Pennine Acute Hospitals was identified as experiencing the biggest rise in patients waiting more than four hours, with 54,945 not seen in four hours.

The trust's medical director Prof Matt Makin said: "Our (three) accident and emergency departments have continued to face real pressures throughout the year and we know demand on our services further increases over winter.

"Like most trusts across the country, we are finding this a challenge due to the flow of patients in and out of hospitals and the large numbers of admissions of patients, particularly those who are elderly and with complex and chronic health conditions.

"We are sorry that some patients have to wait longer than we would like to be seen by a doctor and also those who are waiting to be admitted and taken to the ward."

Dr Simon Howse, policy research manager at RCEM, highlighted that ‘hospitals are being asked to do something they are not resourced to do’, said: “In any health system some people turn up who are not in great need but studies show the level of unnecessary visits in the UK is very, very low."

"They are trying to treat a growing and more needy population with fewer and fewer beds.

"There has also been continuous growth in people over 75 years old with complex needs and they tend to take longer to treat than, say, a 25-year-old."

In a statement, a spokesman for NHS England commented: "Hospitals report this affects their ability to quickly admit emergency A&E patients, so the NHS is working closely with local councils and community health services to enable older patients to get the support they need after a hospital stay, back at home," he said.

"Hospitals are coming under increasing pressure but in the main are continuing to cope."