One in 10 A&E patients waits 12hrs, long-hidden data reveals

Around 10 per cent of the 1.2 million accident and emergency attendees in February waited 12 hours or more, newly published NHS England data has revealed, laying bare the true extent of the NHS’s emergency care crisis.

The data – which NHSE has collected for years but has only now started to publish – shows 125,505 patients waited 12 hours or more from their arrival at A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged.

This is more than double the highest figure under the existing metric of around 55,000, which only starts the clock from when the patient has received a decision to admit.

NHSE’s decision to publish the data for 12-hour breaches from time of arrival follows a concerted campaign by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which has long raised concerns the measure from decision to admit has significantly masked the true extent of long waits in A&E.

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Source: HSJ, 13 April 2023