Our response to August combined performance summary

Nigel Edwards responds to NHS England's Combined Performance Summary for August.

Press release

Published: 13/10/2016

Nuffield Trust Chief Executive Nigel Edwards said:

“Today’s figures mark over a year since the NHS met its commitment to admit or transfer 95% of people attending A&E within four hours. Despite great effort from staff, and heavy pressure from the service’s leaders, only a small handful of hospitals now hit the target.

“We need to look at the underlying causes. Our analysis of hospitals suggests that after years of squeezed bed numbers, there is not enough space left to move patients through at the rate we want. The practice of counting bed use at midnight misses the real crunch points during the day.

“On the front line, leaders should work on better monitoring and control of patient flow minute by minute. Helping the longest staying patients to leave hospital sooner should be a priority, although it will be difficult with the social care system on its knees. Nationally, we should be realistic about what hospitals can do when they are this full, and how hard it will be to free up space again.”

Notes to editors

  • Understanding Patient Flow in Hospitals, released on Tuesday by the Nuffield Trust, looks at the dynamics of why it is difficult to move people through very full hospitals, and what could be done about this.
  • The Combined Performance summary for August gives details of many national NHS targets.
  • NHS England’s A&E performance data show that even including minor A&Es, which typically find it much easier to meet the target, the commitment to admit, discharge or transfer 95% of patients attending A&E within four hours has been missed each month since July 2015.
  • The Nuffield Trust is an independent health charity. We aim to improve the quality of health care in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate.
  • For any queries please contact Mark Dayan at mark.dayan@nuffieldtrust.org.uk / 020 7462 0538.

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