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Showing results for tags 'Long waiting list'.
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News Article
Hospital backlog drops to lowest level in two years
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The backlog in routine hospital treatments in England has reached its lowest level for two years. Data for the end of April showed the waiting list dropped to 7.39 million, down from 7.42 million in March. But it is nine years since the NHS has met its target of 92% of patients being seen in 18 weeks – currently it is just below 60%. The government has made meeting the target one of its key missions for this parliament – and on Wednesday announced above-inflation rises for the NHS in the coming years to help achieve it. Responding to the latest figures, Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, said: "We are putting the NHS on the road to recovery." And he added this was "just the start" as the extra investment announced in the spending review, which will see the NHS budget rise by 3% a year in the next three years, combined with reforms that will be announced in the 10-year plan due next month, would help build on what has been achieved. The drop in the numbers on the waiting list, which covers people waiting for routine treatments like hip and knee operations, came after March saw a rise in numbers – the first time in six months the waiting list had gone up. Although a little bit of fluctuation from month to month is normally seen, the government said it was clear the numbers waiting were on a downward trend. Read full story Source: BBC News, 12 June 2025- Posted
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Millions more to have robotic surgery in NHS plan to cut waiting lists
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Millions more people will have robotic surgery over the next decade under NHS plans to slash the huge waiting list for hospital treatment. The move will mean a significant expansion in how often surgeons use robots when treating people for cancer, hysterectomies and joint replacements, as well as in medical emergencies. The number of patients undergoing robot-assisted surgery is due to rise from 70,000 to 500,000 a year by 2035, the head of the NHS in England will announce on Wednesday. “The NHS has pledged to return to shorter elective waiting times by 2029 and we are using every tool at our disposal to ensure patients get the best possible treatment. “Expanding the use of new and exciting tech such as robotic surgery will play a huge part in this,” said Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England’s chief executive. “Not only does it speed up the number of procedures the NHS can do, but it also means better outcomes, a faster recovery and shorter hospital stays for patients.” By 2035, nine out of 10 keyhole surgery operations, in which the surgeon makes only small incisions into the patient’s body, will involve a robot, up from just one in five today. It will have become so common by then that it will be “the default” for many procedures, Mackey will say. Evidence shows that a robot, either controlled remotely by a surgeon at a console using a 3D camera or when it has been pre-programmed, can be more precise than when a surgeon undertakes the same task and often helps the patient to recover faster and get home from hospital sooner. When surgeons control the robot, they guide the surgical instruments – which in keyhole surgery can be as tiny as 5mm – to undertake the work needed. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 June 2025- Posted
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A new study has revealed that families of some cancer patients are being denied the opportunity to learn about their potential cancer risk due to inconsistencies in genetic testing. Academics have warned that the absence of adequate testing for Lynch syndrome is leaving some cancer patients unaware of their risk of developing other cancers. Lynch syndrome, a rare hereditary condition, elevates the risk of cancers of the bowel, womb, and ovaries. It arises from a gene mutation affecting DNA error correction during replication, potentially leading to uncontrolled cell growth. NHS guidelines stipulate that patients with bowel or womb cancer should undergo tumour assessments for Lynch syndrome markers. The identification of these markers should prompt a referral for genetic testing, confirming the diagnosis and enabling access to support and guidance regarding cancer risks for both the patients and their families. However, a new study by academics at the University of Edinburgh found not all womb cancer patients are being sent for genetic testing. Researchers said those who were referred faced long waits, resulting in high dropout rates, meaning only 48 per cent of those eligible went on to get the test. Experts from the university said gaps in testing mean some womb cancer patients with Lynch syndrome go undetected. Read full story Source: The Independent, 10 June 2025 -
Event
With over 135 million outpatient appointments delivered in 2023/24, outpatient care is one of the most widely used services in the NHS. Yet despite its importance, too many patients experience long waits, inconsistent communication, and a system that can feel fragmented and impersonal. As demand continues to rise, the need for a more co-ordinated, patient-centred approach has never been clearer. In this timely and forward-looking session, the Patients Association explores a bold new vision for outpatient reform: one that places patients not just at the centre of care, but in true partnership throughout it. Chaired by Sarah Tilsed, our Head of Partnerships and Involvement, you'll hear from: Irene Poku, patient advocate, Anne Kinderlerer, Digital Health Clinical Lead at the Royal College of Physicians Theresa Barnes, Associate Medical Director for Clinical Services at Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It will unpack the key themes from Prescription for outpatients: reimagining planned specialist care, a joint report from the Patients Association and the Royal College of Physicians. This roadmap for reform proposes five ambitions and eight transformational shifts to create outpatient services that are timely, equitable, and genuinely collaborative. As the NHS looks to the future through the lens of the 10-Year Health Plan, this is a chance to be part of the conversation about what outpatient care should look like and how we can get there. Register- Posted
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Nearly £450m is being invested in the NHS in England to cut hospital waiting times and tackle persistently failing trusts, the health secretary has announced. Wes Streeting says his NHS reforms aim to deliver around 40 new centres to fast-track treatment for patients, up to 15 mental health crisis assessment units and almost 500 new ambulances. It is part of an attempt to shift patients away from A&E and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. "No patient should ever be left waiting for hours in hospital corridors or for an ambulance which ought to arrive in minutes," said Mr Streeting. "The package of investment and reforms we are announcing today will help the NHS treat more patients in the community, so they don't end up stuck on trolleys in A&E," he added. In an example of the challenge facing the health secretary, Sky News on Wednesday revealed the scale of England's mental health crisis, exacerbated by a shortage of specialist beds and an overwhelmed social care network. The new Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for England says more needs to be done to drive down long waits, cut delayed discharges and improve care for patients. Read full story Source: Sky News, 6 June 2025 Related reading on the hub: How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture: A blog by Claire Cox My experience of the 'Wait 45' policy - Florence in the Machine A silent safety scandal: A nurse’s first-hand account of a corridor nursing shift- Posted
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NHS England: Urgent and emergency care plan 2025/26
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in NHS England
This report sets out how the NHS will resuscitate urgent and emergency care, with a focus on getting patients out of corridors, keeping more ambulances on the road, and enable those ready to leave hospital to do so as soon as possible. Summary of actions and impact for patients and carers Focus as a whole system on achieving improvements that will have the biggest impact on urgent and emergency care services this winter By the year-end, with improvement over winter, we expect to: Reduce ambulance wait times for Category 2 patients – such as those with a stroke, heart attack, sepsis or major trauma – by over 14% (from 35 to 30 minutes). Eradicate last winter’s lengthy ambulance handover delays by meeting the maximum 45-minute ambulance handover time standard, helping get 550,000 more ambulances back on the road for patients. Ensure a minimum of 78% of patients who attend A&E (up from the current 75%) are admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours, meaning over 800,000 people a year will receive more timely care. Reduce the number of patients waiting over 12 hours for admission or discharge from an emergency department compared to 2024/25, so this occurs less than 10% of the time. This will improve patient safety for the 1.7 million attendances a year that currently exceed this timeframe. Tackle the delays in patients waiting to be discharged – starting with the nearly 30,000 patients a year staying 21 days over their discharge-ready-date, saving up to half a million bed days annually. Increase the number of children seen within 4 hours, resulting in thousands of children every month receiving more timely care than in 2024/25. Develop and test winter plans, making sure they achieve a significant increase in urgent care services provided outside hospital compared to last winter Improve vaccination rates for frontline staff towards the pre-pandemic uptake level of 2018/19. This means that in 2025/26, we aim to improve uptake by at least 5 percentage points. Increase the number of patients receiving urgent care in primary, community and mental health settings, including the number of people seen by Urgent Community Response teams and cared for in virtual wards. Meet the maximum 45-minute ambulance handover time standard. Improve flow through hospitals, with a particular focus on reducing patients waiting over 12 hours, and making progress on eliminating corridor care. Set local performance targets by pathway to improve patient discharge times, and eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours in all settings. Reduce length of stay for patients who need an overnight emergency admission. This is currently nearly a day longer than in 2019 (0.9 days) and needs to be reduced by at least 0.4 days . Reduce the number of patients who remain in an emergency department for over 24 hours while awaiting a mental health admission. This will provide faster care for thousands of people in crisis every month. National improvement resource and additional capital investment is simplified and aligned to supporting systems where it can make the biggest difference Allocating over £370 million of capital investment to support: Around 40 new same day emergency care centres and urgent treatment centres. Mental health crisis assessment centres and additional mental health inpatient capacity to reduce the number of mental health patients having to seek treatment in emergency departments. Expansion of the Connected Care Records for ambulance services, giving paramedics access to the patient summary (including recent treatment history) from different NHS services, enabling better patient care and avoiding unnecessary admissions.- Posted
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News Article
People with cancer face ‘ticking timebomb’ due to NHS staff shortages
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People with cancer face a “ticking timebomb” of delays in getting diagnosed and treated because the NHS is too short-staffed to provide prompt care, senior doctors have warned. An NHS-wide shortage of radiologists and oncologists means patients are enduring long waits to have surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy and have a consultant review their care. Hold-ups lead to some people’s cancer spreading, which can reduce the chances of their treatment working and increase the risk of death, the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) said. NHS cancer services are struggling to keep up with rising demand for tests, such as scans and X-rays, and treatment, created by the growing number of people getting the disease. All radiology bosses surveyed said during 2024 their units could not scan all patients within the NHS’s maximum waiting times because they did not have enough staff. “Delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment will inevitably mean that for some patients their cancer will progress while they wait, making successful treatment more difficult and risking their survival,” said Dr Katharine Halliday, the RCR’s president. The findings are particularly worrying because research has found that a patient’s risk of death can increase by about 10% for each month they have to wait for treatment. Nine out of 10 cancer centre chiefs said patients were delayed starting their treatment last year while seven in 10 said they feared workforce gaps were putting patients’ safety at risk. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 June 2025- Posted
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News Article
Obese patients denied knee and hip replacements to slash NHS costs
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Obese patients are being denied life-changing hip and knee replacements and left in pain in a bid to slash spiralling NHS costs, The Independent can reveal. One-third of NHS areas in England and multiple health boards in Wales are blocking patient access based on their body mass index (BMI). The move, deemed “unfair” and “discriminatory”, goes against guidance from the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE), which states BMI shouldn’t be used to restrict patients’ access to joint replacement surgery. Patients are instead being told they must lose weight before they are eligible but waiting lists for NHS weight loss programmes have ballooned, with some people waiting up to three years to be seen while other services have shut, unable to cope with demand. The Royal College of Surgeons of England criticised the policy, saying that denying patients care could cost them their mobility and cause their health to deteriorate, while Tory peer and former health minister James Bethell called on the government to do more to tackle the obesity crisis and end the “misery for millions”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 31 May 2025- Posted
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News Article
USA: Physician appointment wait times climb
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A new AMN Healthcare survey published 27 May found it now takes an average of 31 days to schedule a physician appointment in 15 of the largest US metropolitan areas — up 19% from 2022 and 48% from 2004. AMN Healthcare conducted the survey of 1,391 physician offices in January and February. In 2022, the last year the survey was conducted, it took 26 days. In 2004, the first year the survey was conducted, it took 21 days. The survey, which focused on six medical specialties, gathered data from offices across the Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C., areas. It highlights ongoing challenges related to scheduling physician appointments. Read full story Source: Becker's Clinical Leadership, 27 May 2025- Posted
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News Article
'I feel forgotten after 100 weeks on urgent surgery list'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Tracey Meechan's pain from an ovarian cyst is so severe she can't bend over - she relies on her children to help her put her shoes and socks on. Every day the 41-year-old wakes up and wonders if any new symptoms are going to appear. She has been on an "urgent" NHS waiting list for surgery for 100 weeks and now feels "forgotten". As the latest NHS Scotland waiting times data is due to be published, Mrs Meechan told BBC Scotland News that the wait for treatment has affected every part of her life. She said: "I can't live my life to the fullest. I can't do the activities I want to do with my kids. I can't do the job that I love. "I was signed off work at the end of January as a home carer because of the pain and the physicality of my job - I can't do it. "My mental health has declined. This has been years and the symptoms have worsened. It's impacted my life, my personal life and my family." Before the pandemic it was rare for anybody to face a wait of a whole year to start NHS treatment, but that is not the case now. Waiting always has consequences – more frequent visits to the GP to manage pain, struggles to work or stay healthy in other aspects of life. The government says tackling waits is a priority and has set a target to create 150,000 additional appointments this year. Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 May 2025- Posted
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News Article
Almost a quarter of elective operations in NHS hospitals in England that were cancelled at the last minute took longer than the required 28 days to rearrange, figures show. They also reveal that the number of cancellations breaching the 28-day standard for a new date has more than doubled within a decade, from 9,000 in 2015-16 to 19,400 in 2024-25. The figures obtained by the House of Commons library on behalf of the Liberal Democrats show that a decade ago only 7% of cancelled elective operations were not rearranged within 28 days. Last year’s total of 19,400 cancellations not rearranged in time represents 23% of the 85,400 operations due to take place. This figure was also up by 1,500 from the previous year – an increase of 8%. Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem health and social care spokesperson, said the figures showed patients were being abandoned. She said: “Patients are being left in the lurch, forced to wait in pain and distress for potentially life-altering operations. Each of these delays represents an extra month that someone’s misery is prolonged.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 March 2025- Posted
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Content Article
In recent years we have become familiar with the idea of “dental deserts” – areas of the country where it is impossible to get basic dental treatment on the NHS. The situation was already bad five years ago when, pre-pandemic, only half of the adult population (49%) had access to an NHS dentist. Covid accelerated the decline and now only 4 in 10 have access. This report, from the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts. explains that in 2024 the then government launched a dental recovery plan. There were three main goals: to deliver an additional 1.5 million courses of treatment in 2024–25, to improve children’s oral health through the Smile for Life programme, and to introduce measures to support the dental workforce. The Committee’s judgement on the plan is blunt. They say that it has “comprehensively failed to deliver improvements in access to NHS dentistry”. One consequence is that “the most vulnerable patients continue to suffer the most from long–standing failures in the system”. The underlying cause, according to the Committee, was that “The modelling that underpinned the dental recovery plan was flawed, and even if the plan had performed in line with expectations it was never actually ambitious enough to meet its stated aim of ensuring that everyone who needs to see an NHS dentist would be able to".- Posted
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News Article
Keir Starmer made slashing NHS waiting times one of his priorities, and his Labour government has already claimed it as one of its biggest achievements so far. But new data tells a different story - and the public aren't noticing an improvement. "The target was never particularly ambitious," says the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) about Labour's plan to add two million extra NHS appointments during their first year in power. In February, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced they had achieved the feat early. He recently described the now 3.6m additional appointments achieved in their first eight months as a "massive increase". But new data, obtained by independent fact checking charity Full Fact and shared exclusively with Sky News, reveals this figure actually signalled a slowing down in new NHS activity. The data also reveals how unambitious the target was in the first place. We now know two million extra appointments over the course of a year represents a rise of less than 3% of the almost 70 million carried out in the year to June 2024. Responding to the findings, Sarah Scobie, deputy director of independent health and social care think tank the Nuffield Trust, told Sky News the two million target was "very modest". She said delivering that number of appointments "won't come close to bringing the treatment waiting list back to pre-pandemic levels, or to meeting longer-term NHS targets". Read full story Source: Sky News, 23 May 2025- Posted
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News Article
Cutting mental health waiting times ‘could save UK £1bn a year’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Ministers have been told cutting waiting times for thousands of people in Britain’s mental health crisis could help employment and save the government £1bn a year. According to research by Lancaster University, providing access to faster treatment across England through the NHS would help to improve the health of hundreds of thousands of people while bringing economic benefits for the nation at large. In a new study to be published in the latest edition of the respected Review of Economics and Statistics academic journal, Prof Roger Prudon found that a one-month delay in the start of mental health treatment resulted in 2% of patients losing their jobs. Drawing on data for waiting times from the Netherlands between 2012 and 2019, Prudon said a one-month reduction could help as many as 80,000 people get access to treatment annually, which would save more than €300m (£253m) in unemployment-related costs every year. He said the same calculation could be applied to the UK, given a comparable prevalence in mental health problems, as well as similar treatment times and cost to the economy and public finances from unemployment. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 May 2025 -
News Article
‘My son is falling through the cracks of the child mental health system’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A six-year wait for ADHD treatment on the NHS highlights a growing crisis. One mother tells of her frustrations: I wasn’t surprised by the children’s commissioner report out today, calling for urgent action to tackle waiting lists in mental health care for children. Ten years ago, I received a call from my son's reception teacher. They asked me to come in and said he was showing some developmental delays, and autistic traits. Within six months my son, who is now 15, was diagnosed with autism and ADD (attention deficit disorder) and medicated. Fast forward to his younger brother, and he has been languishing on a waiting list for six years. The school referred him to CAMHS (child and adolescent mental health services) to be assessed for ADHD in November 2021. The school could see how much I was struggling and sent CAMHS an email each week asking where he was on the waiting list. Despite this, it took until October 2024 for him to be diagnosed with ADHD. By then he was in secondary school. Something Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said really stuck out to me. She said: “The numbers in this report are staggering — but these are not numbers, these are real children.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 19 May 2025 -
Content Article
This report describes children’s access to mental health services in England during the 2023-24 financial year, based on new analysis of NHS England data. Demand continues to grow for Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS, commonly known as CAMHS) , with the number of children with active referrals increasing by nearly 10,000 since last year to 958,200. Compared to last year, there have been some areas of progress: fewer children’s referrals are being closed before treatment, and investment in CYPMHS has increased in real terms and when adjusted for inflation. However, figures continue to highlight some concerning trends: Many children were still experiencing long waits to access mental health services, and the number of children with active referrals who were still waiting for treatment to begin at the end of the year has increased by almost 50,000 children from 270,300 in 2022-23 to 320,000 in 2023- 24. Almost half of those referred for being ‘in crisis’ have their referrals closed or were still waiting for their second contact at the end of the year. There has been an uptick in children being referred for suspected and diagnosed neurodevelopmental conditions; these conditions are associated with some of the longest waits. The accessibility of mental health services in England continues to vary widely from one ICB area to another, leading to a postcode lottery in children’s access to suitable support for their mental health conditions.- Posted
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My experience of the 'Wait 45' policy
Anonymous posted an article in Florence in the Machine
The images on the left highlight the increased delays in ambulance responses and the potentially catastrophic consequences. Equally, the panic-inducing headlines of measures brought in to resolve the crisis. I work on the healthcare frontline and I’d like to share my experience of the 'Wait 45' policy in my trust and the impact it is having. Implementation of a new policy In December 2024, all ambulance trusts in England were told to implement a new policy, ‘Release to Respond’, also known as the ‘Wait 45’ policy, which means ambulances will only wait at Emergency Departments (ED) for 45 minutes before patients are left and the crews make their way to the next call. This was initiated following increasing waits for crews to handover patients to the ED. These waits were not inconsiderable periods of time, with many reports of crews spending their entire shift parked outside the ED with just one patient. This has resulted in some appalling headlines—for example, elderly people being left waiting for up to 15 hours for an ambulance to arrive and people having cardiac arrests where ambulances are not available to respond. Based on this, the adoption of the ’Release to Respond' policy makes sense. However, the introduction of this policy has been met with some scepticism and equally horrendous headlines about patients being dumped while crews run. The policy states that crews will not dump and run, and that handovers will be given, and patients will be placed on a chair, trolley or wheelchair in a dedicated space. But this policy is another example of not identifying the whole problem and bringing in a measure that only addresses the needs of one part of the healthcare system, while making it considerably worse for other parts! What is the point of an integrated care system (ICS) and board (ICB) if they do not look at an integrated intervention to address this situation? What is the reality of the ’Wait 45’ policy? The Wait 45 policy in my trust has completely changed the way the ED manages patients. Corridor care is a term used to describe the practice of providing medical attention to patients in hallways or other non-designated clinical areas due to overcrowding or resource shortages. It used to be that corridor care was for patients who had been seen, had a plan and who were either waiting to go home or for a bed on a ward. Now, in my trust, the corridor is for undifferentiated patients (patients who present with symptoms that have not yet been diagnosed or categorised) that come in directly from the ambulances. This has increased the risk to patients and staff. The corridor is used as soon as the department is full and then, only when the corridor is full to capacity, does the Wait 45 policy get initiated. At this point it is almost guaranteed that the corridor will need additional staffing from somewhere, while the first crew need to wait their 45 minutes—the hospital now has 45 minutes to find these additional staff otherwise the nurse: patient ratio increases in the corridor. The ratios of nurse to patients differs depending on the area of the hospital: in major treatment areas it is 1:4 but in the corridor it is 1:6; however, there is no upper limit of patients in the corridor and staff are often moved from other in-patient areas to work in the ED where they are invariably working in the corridor. These nurses will not have a ED background and will find it challenging and may miss the subtle signs that an experienced ED nurse may spot. There is often a lack of support for nurses in the corridor, leaving additional staff having to rely on their previous experience and judgement to guide them on what needs to be done. Handover criteria not being met Ambulance trust and the acute trust staff should at handover discuss the criteria for placing patients in a corridor—i.e., patients are supposed to be independent, able to move themselves to the toilet, be clinically stable and not have an infectious presentation However, in my experience this criteria is often not followed, as highlighted in the following examples I have seen and heard: Suspected neutropenic patients placed in the corridor. These patients have a low neutrophil count (a type of white blood cell) and are more vulnerable to infections. The concern for those on immunosuppressants seems to be non-existent now; there was a significant concern during the Covid-19 pandemic, but now being immunosuppressed is met with a tut, roll of the eyes and a shrug of the shoulders. It rarely features in handovers. Ambulance crews handing over patients that needed a hoist transfer at their nursing home; it is clearly not appropriate to care for these patients in a corridor where they should be mobile to use bedpans or commodes. Elderly patients who have fallen—either with significant trauma or with no apparent injuries—placed in the corridor. One patient had pain in their neck and received a trauma CT scan in the corridor—surely this patient should not have been in a corridor in the first place! Patients with diarrhoea and vomiting placed in the corridor, sometimes next to the neutropenic patients. Those with significant respiratory symptoms suggestive of influenza or Covid-19 placed in the corridor, despite the known risks to those that are in the corridor with them. I have even had a patient with a Glasgow Coma Scale of 10 (this is a tool that healthcare providers use to measure decreases in consciousness) handed over to the corridor… Wouldn’t resuscitation be a better location for them? Unintended consequences It is easy to understand why ‘Release to Respond’ policies are needed. With no external pressure, it appeared that many trusts lacked the willingness to investigate changes to reduce the overcrowding in the ED. However, while I recognise that the ambulance trusts need to have their staff available and not tied up at hospitals, this is making the ED unsafe. Another unintended consequence of these policies is that the working relationships between the ED nurses and the ambulance crews has deteriorated. I have noticed an increasing lack of willingness to help each other and incivility is growing. Asking simple questions results in dirty looks and aggressive questioning about ’who are you‘. The natural feeling is now one of defence, protecting each other against comments, pulling back into areas of comfort and knowledge. The standard replies are now ‘no’ and a feeling that this is not my problem or my fault. Unilateral measures that do not address the whole problem I cannot help but think implementing a unilateral solution like the ‘Release to Respond’ policy is based entirely on ‘work as imagined’ and benefits only one part of a highly complex area. It places additional burdens on already overstretched resources. The worst of which is that EDs are still seen as being made of elastic, with the ability to continually expand even when the evidence shows every hospital is beyond capacity every day of the year! When I first heard about ICSs and ICBs, I really hoped we would start to see a time of collaboration, working together to solve some of the issues within healthcare. Sadly, there does not yet seem to have been a change. In fact, it feels very much that we renamed but stayed the same. Probably, because all that has happened since the ICSs were introduced is restructuring after restructuring. They are not being allowed to work. Please, don’t get me wrong. I can see why these policies are in place. If I called an ambulance, I would like it to be available to respond and unfortunately currently they are not and have not been for a while. But I cannot help but think that until the ICS and regional NHS organisations take ownership of these problems, and all the stakeholders are represented at the table to analyse, design, implement and, most important of all, EVALUATE an intervention, we are condemned to keep implementing unilateral measures that do not address the whole problem. Further reading on the hub The crisis of corridor care in the NHS: patient safety concerns and incident reporting A silent safety scandal: A nurse’s first-hand account of a corridor nursing shift A nurse's response to the NHSE guidance on their principles for providing safe and good quality care in temporary escalation spaces How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture: A blog by Claire Cox Share your insights Do you have experience of corridor care either as a patient or a healthcare professional? What impact have you seen on patient safety? You can comment below (sign up here for free first) or email the editorial team at [email protected]- Posted
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The UK's top A&E doctor has accused the government of “neglecting the oldest and sickest patients” as figures suggest a record 320 people a week may have died needlessly in A&E last year due to waits for hospital beds. Dr Adrian Boyle, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine president, has warned that current government policy on A&E is focused on cutting waits for “cut fingers and sprained ankles” while neglecting older people, who are most likely to die and spend days on trollies. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) estimates there were more than 16,600 deaths of patients linked to long waits for a bed, an increase of a fifth on 2023 and a record since new A&E data has been published. The figures come after the NHS’s target to see 95% of patients within four hours was cut to 78% for 2025/26. There is no national target for the number of people waiting 12 hours, the length of time linked to excess emergency care deaths, but last year more than 1.7 million patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from A&E. Dr Boyle said the figures were “the equivalent of two aeroplanes crashing every week” and were devastating for families. Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 May 2025- Posted
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Thousands of people in a mental health crisis are enduring waits of up to three days in A&E before they get a bed, with conditions “close to torture” for those in such a distressed state. At one hospital, some patients have become so upset at the delays in being admitted that they have left and tried to kill themselves nearby, leading nurses and the fire brigade to follow in an attempt to stop them. A&E staff are so busy dealing with patients seeking help with physical health emergencies that security guards rather than nurses sometimes end up looking after mental health patients. The findings are included in research by the Royal College of Nursing. Its leader, Prof Nicola Ranger, called the long waits facing those in serious mental ill health, and the difficulties faced by A&E staff seeking to care for them, “a scandal in plain sight”. The RCN’s research into “prolonged and degrading” long stays in A&E also disclosed that: Some trusts that previously had no long waits for mental health patients now have hundreds. The number of people seeking help at A&E for mental health emergencies is rising steadily and reached 216,182 last year. The recruitment of mental health nurses has lagged far behind the rise in demand. The number of beds in mental health units has fallen by 3,699 since 2014. Rachelle McCarthy, a senior charge nurse at Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust, said: “It is not uncommon for patients with severe mental ill health to wait three days. Many become distressed and I totally understand why. I think if I was sat in an A&E department for three days waiting for a bed I would be distressed too.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 May 2025- Posted
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News Article
Hospitals in England reducing staff and services as part of NHS ‘financial reset’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Hospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make “eye-watering” savings demanded by NHS bosses. Rehabilitation centres face being shut, talking therapies services cut and beds for end-of-life care reduced as part of efforts by England’s 215 NHS trusts to comply with a “financial reset”. Sir Jim Mackey, NHS England’s new chief executive, has ordered them to make unprecedented savings during 2025-26 to avoid a projected £6.6bn deficit becoming a reality. But trust bosses are warning that delivering what for some equates to 12% of their entire budget in “efficiency savings” will affect patients and waiting times. “These [savings targets] are at eye-wateringly high levels”, said Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents trusts. “It’s going to be extremely challenging.” Trusts have to make, in some cases, deep cuts in order to stay in the black this year, despite the government having given the NHS an extra £22bn for last year and this one. A survey it conducted among trust leaders found that diabetes services for young people and hospital at-home-style “virtual wards” were among the areas of care likely to be scaled back. Trusts are planning to shrink their workforce by up to 1,500 posts each to save money, even though they fear that could damage the quality or safety of care provided. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 May 2025- Posted
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- Funding
- Workforce management
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News Article
Children waiting more than two years for tooth extractions
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Children needing a general anaesthetic for tooth extraction are waiting nearly three years in a hidden crisis that is not recorded on national waiting lists. A national report on hospital dentistry found there were more children on locally held waiting lists for assessment than on the nationally reported waiting list – 27,285 compared to 22,474. Some of the longest waits are thought to be in Kent and Medway, where 200 children are waiting for dental extractions – many of them with autism or learning disabilities. The longest wait is 143 weeks — about two years and nine months. The issue is going under the radar because there is a lack of a consistent dataset for community dental services, which are responsible for dentistry for children with special care needs, such as physical or learning disabilities. Children with additional needs often can’t have teeth extracted under a local anaesthetic and instead need to be admitted to a hospital with a paediatric intensive care unit where they can have a general anaesthetic. Being on a locally held waiting list – typically when a community dental service is not part of an acute trust – can mean commissioners are unaware of the scale of children waiting. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 May 2025- Posted
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- Children and Young People
- Dentist
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News Article
More than 1m older people in England waited over 12 hours in A&E last year
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than 1 million older people a year in England are forced to wait longer than 12 hours in A&E, with many having to endure “degrading and dehumanising” corridor waits on trolleys. The number aged 60 and over waiting more than 12 hours to be transferred, admitted or discharged increased to 1.15 million in 2024, up from 991,068 in 2023. The figure was 305,619 in 2019, according to data obtained by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) under freedom of information laws. A report by the RCEM also found the risk of a 12-hour wait in an emergency department in England increased with the age of the patient. People aged 60 to 69 had a 15% chance of waiting 12 hours or more. For those aged 90 and over, the likelihood rose to 33%. “The healthcare system is failing our most vulnerable patients – more than a million last year,” said Dr Adrian Boyle, the president of the RCEM. “These people are our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. “They aren’t receiving the level of care they need, as they endure the longest stays in our emergency departments, often suffering degrading and dehumanising corridor care. It’s an alarming threat to patient safety. We know long stays are dangerous, especially for those who are elderly, and puts people’s lives at risk.” As well as long waits, the RCEM report found many older people were missing out on vital checks in A&E. Of patients aged over 75, only 16% were screened for delirium – a reversible condition linked to an increased risk of death. Fewer than half (48%) of patients were screened for their risk of falls. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 May 2025- Posted
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- Older People (over 65)
- Accident and Emergency
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Content Article
More than a million older people faced waits of 12 hours or more in A&Es in England last year – and shockingly, the older a person is, the more likely they are to experience a long stay in the emergency department – new data from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) reveals.It comes as the College publishes a new report looking at the care older people receive in emergency departments.The research, titled ‘Care of Older People 2023-24’, is part of the College’s clinical Quality Improvement Programme which aims to improve the care of patients attending Emergency Departments. This interim report reflects the findings of the second year of the three-year programme. Across the UK, 149 Emergency Departments submitted 24, 865 patient cases from 4 October 2023 – 3 October 2024. A key finding was that among patients over the age of 75, there was insufficient screening for three common conditions which primarily affect this age group: Only 16% of patients were screened for delirium – a reversible condition which can be associated with mortality, characterised by a sudden change in mental function.On average less than half (48%) had screening to assess the risk of falling.An average of 56% underwent screening for general frailty – which if detected can trigger early intervention and support in hospital and in the community.Despite a year-on-year improvement from 2023, these patients are enduring the longest waits in A&Es and are bearing the brunt of an Urgent and Emergency Care system in crisis. Older people are often more likely to suffer with complicated or multiple health issues. This, combined with the wider issues related to a shortage of in-patient beds, mean they can often end up enduring extreme long waits in A&E – often on trolleys in corridors.- Posted
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- Older People (over 65)
- Accident and Emergency
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News Article
Urgent care worse than pre-pandemic, think tank says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A leading health think tank says urgent and emergency care in England is performing "far worse" than before the pandemic. The Health Foundation argues that the NHS was "in distress" this winter with A&E waiting times reaching a record high. The group says it would be wrong just to blame relatively high levels of flu. The government is due to publish an urgent and emergency care plan soon. The Department for Health and Social Care said that hospitals were "feeling the strain" but that it was taking "decisive action" to prevent winter crises. The Health Foundation report on the recent winter says that the number of people waiting 12 hours or more in A&E after a decision to admit to a ward was the highest since modern records began. It topped 60,000 in January, or 11% of emergency admissions. The report says that a familiar problem remains as acute as ever – delays discharging patients from hospital who are fit to leave. This, it says, made bottlenecks worse in A&E and for ambulances trying to hand over patients and that delays for those handovers were worse than in previous winters. Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 April 2025- Posted
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- Organisational Performance
- Lack of resources
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Content Article
The health service in England has endured a punishing winter. Stark warnings about a potential ‘quad-demic’, the ‘busiest year on record’ for A&E and ambulance services, and ’jampacked’ hospitals prompted comparisons with the COVID-19 pandemic. But how bad was winter 2024/25? The Health Foundation present analysis of routinely collected and publicly available data on health service performance and the possible contributing factors. Key points: This winter saw the NHS in distress. Only 73% of A&E patients were treated within 4 hours, similar to the last two winters, and far below the 95% constitutional standard. The number of people experiencing 12-hour waits before admission reached a new record high. Numbers of A&E diverts and ambulance handover delays were worse than over previous winters. Looking at operational performance, winter pressures and other factors, the analysis explores the extent to which disruptions to urgent and emergency care were caused by higher than usual levels of winter illnesses and/or systemic weaknesses within the NHS. Levels of flu and diarrhoea and vomiting were higher than usual. Hospital admissions for flu reached a similar peak to winter 2022/23 but took longer to fall, leading to a 50% higher total number of flu bed days. However, hospital admissions for RSV were similar to previous winters, while admissions for COVID-19 remained low. Winter A&E attendances have risen steadily each year. However, slightly fewer patients attended major A&E departments in winter 2024/25 than in 2023/24, and emergency hospital admissions fell slightly. This suggests the NHS struggled to cope with a small increase in demand from patients needing emergency hospitalisation, while also expanding elective activity in line with government commitments to improve elective performance. Bed occupancy during winter has been rising for the last 15 years, exceeding the NHS 92% threshold for the first time in winter 2017/18, highlighting a system at its limits. Since COVID-19, a substantial increase in delayed discharges is likely to have obstructed the flow of patients out of hospitals, worsening bottlenecks upstream in the care pathway from A&E into wards and from ambulances into A&E. Overall, the conditions this winter, while severe, were similar to those in recent years and not far above what the NHS can normally expect. Attributing operational problems to external factors such as winter illnesses and higher demand risks offering false comfort about the resilience of the health service. The shows the health service performing far worse than before the pandemic and reporting record or near-record levels of operational problems across urgent and emergency care. Ahead of the government’s forthcoming Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, this raises key questions about what might be behind some of the underlying issues contributing to what has now become an annual winter crisis.- Posted
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- Organisational Performance
- Long waiting list
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