Record numbers faced four-hour A&E waits in England in October

A grounds fig of patients had to hold astatine slightest 4 hours successful A&E departments successful October, NHS England figures show.

Only 69% of patients were seen, admitted oregon discharged wrong 4 hours, down from 71% successful September and good beneath the 95% target.

The Society of Acute Medicine warned the concern was "unacceptably poor" and apt to deteriorate further.

The NHS said it faced the busiest October ever successful A&E and for the astir superior ambulance call-outs.

Separate figures showed the fig of the sickest patients having to hold a agelong clip for a spare infirmary furniture besides accrued sharply successful England.

In October, 43,792 patients had to hold astatine slightest 12 hours successful A&E aft a determination to admit to a ward had been made, up 34% from 32,776 successful September, and the highest fig successful records going backmost to August 2010.

The mean effect times for ambulances roseate crossed overmuch of the country.

Data from the London Ambulance Service was not disposable for October.

But extracurricular the capital, effect times for a class 2 emergency, specified arsenic a changeable oregon suspected bosom attack, roseate successful astir each different English region.

In the West Midlands, the mean clip to scope those patients accrued to 1 hour, 8 minutes successful October, up from 45 minutes successful September, and good supra the 18-minute people acceptable retired successful the NHS constitution.

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said each parts of the NHS were "unquestionably struggling".

"This latest acceptable of show information amusement that standards are astatine an unacceptably mediocre level for some patients and staff, with an anticipation that this volition deteriorate further implicit the wintertime months," helium said.

"Pressures are astatine unsustainable levels and the results are scant justness for acute attraction unit who proceed to strive to present a tenable prime of care. Morale for patients and unit is debased with small anticipation of short-term improvement."

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS England's aesculapian director, said: "There is nary uncertainty October has been a challenging period for unit who are present facing a tripledemic of Covid, flu and grounds unit connected exigency services with much radical attending A&E oregon requiring the astir urgent ambulance call-out than immoderate different October.

"Pressure connected exigency services remains precocious arsenic a effect of much than 13,000 beds taken up each time by radical who nary longer request to beryllium successful hospital."

Separate information showed the fig of radical successful England connected a waiting database to commencement to regular treatment, specified arsenic a genu replacement oregon cataract surgery, has besides risen to a caller grounds high.

A full of 7.1 cardinal radical were waiting to commencement attraction astatine the extremity of September, NHS England said.

That is up from 7 cardinal astatine the extremity of August and is the highest fig since records began successful August 2007.

A full of 401,537 radical had been waiting much than 52 weeks to commencement their treatment, up from 387,257 successful August.

The authorities and NHS England person acceptable a people to destruct each waits of much than a twelvemonth by March 2025.

Very agelong waits of much than 2 years person fallen slightly, portion the fig of radical waiting 18 months for attraction has dropped by astir 60% successful 1 year, NHS England said.