Prioritise safety not A&E target, NHS leaders told

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told wellness chiefs successful England to prioritise information adjacent if it means show against the four-hour A&E people slips this winter.

The connection was delivered astatine a gathering with infirmary bosses and different NHS leaders successful London connected Monday amid mounting interest astir the wintertime pressures that are building.

Last week information showed hospitals were experiencing important pressures for this signifier of the winter, with ambulances facing agelong waits extracurricular A&E and 95% of infirmary beds full.

Government sources said the wellness caput wanted to supply "reassurance" to the NHS that it would not beryllium penalised if show against the people deteriorates.

They said it did not mean the people was being dropped, but that patients indispensable beryllium prioritised according to "clinical need".

"We person to beryllium realistic astir what tin beryllium achieved successful the coming months."

NHS leaders were besides told everything imaginable indispensable beryllium done to trim ambulance delays erstwhile they driblet patients astatine infirmary – astatine the commencement of December two-thirds of crews were experiencing agelong waits, delaying their quality to respond to 999 calls.

To deed the target, the NHS needs to spot 95% of patients wrong 4 hours of them arriving. Figures for October shows conscionable 73% are.

Speaking aft the meeting, which was attended by 700 wellness leaders either successful idiosyncratic oregon remotely, Streeting said: "We inherited a breached NHS that saw yearly wintertime situation arsenic the norm. This year, we're seeing grounds pressures connected services arsenic we determination into December.

"I privation to spot diligent information prioritised arsenic we brace ourselves for the coming months. I'm asking trusts to absorption connected ambulance delays, handovers and the longest A&E waits."

NHS England main enforcement Amanda Pritchard, who besides attended the meeting, said the wellness work was facing "unprecedented demand" heading into winter.

"Patient information indispensable beryllium paramount and speaking to section leaders today, the connection was clear: we request each portion of the NHS and societal attraction partners, moving unneurotic to negociate request and guarantee patients with the astir urgent needs are prioritised," she said.

Dr Tim Cooksley, of the Society for Acute Medicine, said it was "concerning" the wellness caput felt the request to spell retired what the priorities should beryllium for unit connected the frontline.

"The stark world is not that hospitals and unit connected the frontline are manipulating targets, but that they are simply incapable to present harmless attraction adjacent erstwhile trying their utmost to bash truthful fixed the intolerable situations they are in."

He besides accused the authorities of lacking a coherent strategy to tackle the pressures successful the exigency attraction system, pointing to the information the authorities has made it 1 of the cardinal missions to present the 18-week people for non-urgent attraction this parliament, portion not making the aforesaid committedness for the four-hour A&E target.

Last twelvemonth successful absorption Labour said they would deed each the cardinal NHS show targets including A&E, but this was not successful the manifesto and has not been repeated since the predetermination with ministers saying they cannot warrant that the four-hour people volition beryllium hit.