UK’s worst A&E wait times revealed in interactive map – check your area | UK | News
Patients across the UK face long A&E waits (Image: Getty)
An interactive map has revealed where patients face the longest emergency department waits in the UK. The NHS had its busiest month for A&E visits in March; approximately 2.43 million patients visited their local departments; this was 315,000 more than in February and 16,000 more than the previous record set in May 2024.
According to data, 46,665 patients across England had to wait more than 12 hours in emergency departments last month. Although this figure was lower than in February and January, it was the second highest recorded in March. A&E waits of more than 12 hours have become increasingly common since the Covid-19 outbreak, with just 331 patients enduring long waits in March 2019. Meanwhile, this figure has increased to 22,506 as of March 2022.
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A&E waiting times are often used as a barometer for the overall performance of the NHS because they are affected by pressures on other services, including ambulance calls, primary care and social care services. For example, some patients face long waits in the emergency department because hospital wards are full.
In the early 2000s the Labor government introduced the four-hour standard, which promised that at least 95% of A&E patients would be admitted to hospital, transferred to another provider or discharged within four hours. However, this has not been met nationally in any year since 2013/2014.
Patients across the country continue to face long waits due to a range of factors, including increased demand for services and reduced NHS capacity. While the demand for hospital care increased, the number of hospital beds and staff decreased.
According to the data, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust was the institution with the highest number of 12-hour waits in the country. A total of 1,771 patients had to wait more than 12 hours from the time the admission decision was made.
Meanwhile, 1,511 patients faced 12 waits in departments at Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. This was followed by Barts Health NHS Trust with 1,207, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust with 1,200 and The Shrewsbury And Telford Hospital NHS Trust with 1,173.
The government has confirmed £237 million worth of investment to increase the capacity of the NHS. One area where the health service is showing signs of improvement is the number of patients treated in A&E within four hours; 77% of all patients spend less than four hours between arrival, transfer or discharge; this is the highest figure since August 2021.
Ambulance response times for the most serious incidents were also the fastest in almost five years, averaging 26:18 in March. Approximately 80% of suspected cancer patients were diagnosed within 28 days in February; This is the highest rate in NHS history.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “After years of neglect we have inherited an NHS that is in the worst crisis in its history. Today’s figures show how far we have come.
“Thanks to government investment and modernization – and the extraordinary efforts of NHS staff across the country – waiting lists have fallen by more than 400,000. We are diagnosing or clearing the record numbers of cancer patients in a timely manner – which as a kidney cancer survivor I’m personally invested in. Ambulance and A&E waits are at their best for almost half a decade.
“So much has been done and there is so much more to do. Despite record pressures and strikes, we are within a hair’s breadth of the ambitious targets we have set for ourselves. But this is not enough. There are still too many patients waiting too long. The NHS is on the road to recovery and my foot is firmly on the accelerator.”
