NHS England performance makes slight improvement

BBC Newsnight has reported that performance figures from NHS England has shown a slight improvement since the first week of January, widely considered to be the NHS’s hardest week of the year.

According to data seen by the news group, the number of people treated within four hours at A&E departments recovered to 82.4 per cent, a significant rise from 75.8 per cent in the first week, but still below the target of 95 per cent.

The data indicated that for the second week of January, 4,700 people who had been admitted to a hospital were left waiting for more than four hours to find a bed.

The national four-hour target has not been met since July 2005.

A spokesman for NHS Improvement commented: "In the past few days, we've seen a real improvement in how quickly patients are being seen and discharged from accident and emergency departments - including to social care. But we know the pressures facing our hospitals will continue over the remaining weeks of winter and we're working hard to ensure they have the support they need to offer patients quick, safe, quality care."

The spokesman added: "We started planning for winter this year earlier than ever before and will continue to do everything we can to ensure the best care possible is being delivered."