Today, NHS England published the latest data on key performance measures for May and June of this year. Here we show some of these statistics and how they compare with previous years.
During this unprecedented time for the health service, QualityWatch will continue to provide independent scrutiny of the health and social care system as far as possible. The most recent data published today reflects dramatic changes in access and service use as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. In light of these shifts in activity, we have changed the presentation of some of our usual charts, to aid interpretation. It is also worth noting that NHS England have suspended data collection from April to September 2020 for some of their performance statistics, including delayed transfers of care.
In March 2019, the Clinically-Led Review of NHS Access Standards Interim Report was released, proposing some significant changes to many of the targets reported on here. A six-month Progress Report from the NHS Medical Director was also published in October 2019. Field testing of the proposed new standards began in 2019, however due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, the publication of the review’s recommendations has been delayed until later this year.
For urgent and emergency care, the field test sites have not been submitting four-hour performance data since May 2019. The time series presented here excludes the field testing sites and so is comparable across months and years. For elective care, performance of the field test sites will continue to be included in the national time series, so the data is fully comparable over time.
For interactive charts showing the quality of health and social care over time, please refer to our 200+ indicators.
A&E
- In June 2020, there were 1.4 million total A&E attendances – 33% lower than June 2019 but 12% higher than May 2020.
- There was an average of 47,044 total A&E attendances per day in June 2020. This is 33% lower than in June 2019.
- In June 2020, there were 1,016,602 type 1 A&E attendances – 24% lower than in June 2019 but 10% higher than in May 2020.
- Emergency admissions via A&E have generally been increasing year-on-year, but fell dramatically in April 2020. In June 2020, there were 337,709 emergency admissions via A&E – 15% lower than in June 2019 but 8% higher than in May 2020.
- In June 2020, 7.2% of people attending A&E spent more than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge, a slight worsening of waiting times compared to May 2019.
- 17,886 patients spent more than four hours waiting on a trolley from a decision to admit to admission in June 2020 – 69% lower than in June 2019.
For more information, see our A&E waiting times indicator.
Ambulance response times
- Following a worsening in ambulance response times in March, the average response time for Category 1 (life-threatening) calls improved to 6 minutes 38 seconds in June 2020. There were 22% fewer Category 1 incidents in June 2020 compared to June 2019.
- The average response time for Category 2 (emergency) calls was 14 minutes 53 seconds in June 2020. This came alongside an 11% fall in Category 2 incidents compared to June 2019.
For more information, see our ambulance response times indicator.
Treatment and diagnostic test waiting times
- The total number of people waiting to start consultant-led elective treatment fell to 3.9 million in May 2020 (reported waiting list plus the estimate of missing data). Although outpatient and elective inpatient activity dropped in May, there was a larger drop in GP referrals, resulting in an overall reduction in the waiting list.
- The number of people waiting over 52 weeks to start consultant-led elective treatment increased to 26,029 in May 2020, the highest level in over ten years.
- The proportion of people waiting over 18 weeks to start elective treatment reached 38% in May 2020. The 18-week target has not been met for over four years.
- In May 2020, 59% of patients had been waiting over six weeks for a diagnostic test. This is the worst performance since records began and the diagnostic waiting time target has not been met for over six years.
For more information, see our treatment waiting times and diagnostic test waiting times indicators.
Cancer waiting times
- In May 2020, over one in four patients (30%) waited longer than two months to start their first treatment for cancer following an urgent GP referral – the worst performance since records began.
- The 62-day cancer target has not been met for over four years.
- The number of people starting a first treatment for cancer following an urgent GP referral fell to 8,564 in May 2020 – 39% lower than in May 2019.
For more information, see our cancer waiting time targets indicator.
