A&E patients in England endured a record-breaking month of delays in January, with more than 60,000 people waiting between four and 12 hours for a hospital bed, and more than 780 waiting over 12 hours.
Both figures are highs since the introduction in 2004 of a target that 95% of patients must be seen and either admitted or discharged in under four hours.
The leaked document, from NHS Improvement, suggests that out of 1.4m visits in January, in only 82% were patients dealt with within the four-hour target.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Tajek Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “We are facing an incredible demand on our services. The dignity of care is significantly compromised. The international evidence shows that the more crowded your emergency departments are, the higher the risk of dying. Delays to assessment will compromise your care.”
If you work in, or visited, A&E in January we’d like you to share your experiences – good or bad – and insights. You can fill in the form below (anonymously, if you wish) and we’ll use a selection of responses in our reporting.
