Hospitals flooded as record numbers flock to A&E after deadly virus outbreak | UK | News
The Kent meningitis outbreak fueled a record number of people visiting A&E in March, according to NHS England. Healthcare data showed the number of emergency room visits last month was 2.43 million; this is 16,000 more than the previous high in May 2024. NHS England said the Kent outbreak had led to a “marked increase in demand”, with thousands of schoolchildren being offered preventative medicines and vaccines after the deaths of two teenagers.
More than three-quarters of patients were seen within four hours (77.1%); This is the best performance since July 2021. However, this fell short of the target of 78%. Approximately 46,000 people waited more than 12 hours after the decision to buy a bed was made.
Health Minister Wes Streeting said there were “still too many patients waiting too long”. He added: “Despite record pressures and strikes, we are very close to the ambitious targets we set for ourselves.
“The NHS is on the road to recovery and my foot is firmly on the accelerator.”
Meanwhile, the NHS waiting list has fallen for the fourth consecutive month to 6.11 million patients waiting for treatment, down from 7.22 million in February.
Approximately 62.6% of them were being treated within 18 weeks, and this rate is aimed to be increased to 65% by the end of March.
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS deputy chief executive and medical director, said: “I am incredibly proud of the work NHS staff have done over the past year to bring us within striking distance of our elective recovery target.
“Pressure on services remains very high, with more people than ever attending A&E in March following prolonged demand over the winter period.”
Sarah Scobie, deputy director of research at the Nuffield Trust think tank, said the NHS was making real progress but “the ‘sprint’ to improve waiting times is just the beginning of a marathon to come”.
He added: “Budgets are tight and spread across many different priorities, and major structural reforms lurk on the horizon.
“The challenge for the NHS will be whether the improvements are sustainable or, as we have seen before, a rapid increase that soon disappears.”
Tim Gardner, deputy director of policy at the Health Foundation, said: “The figures show some signs of improvement in the NHS and reflect the huge effort made by staff during a difficult winter, but they cannot mask how far services are from meeting the standards patients can expect.”
He added: “Making further progress will require system-wide action to overcome bottlenecks that cause long delays in admitting and discharging patients.”
