Accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times

Part of The NHS in a nutshell

Posted:Tuesday 17 September 2019

Accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times are one of the most high-profile indicators of how hospitals are performing. How is A&E performance measured and what influences how long people wait?

Now read this...

An alternative guide to the urgent and emergency care system in England

An alternative guide to the urgent and emergency care system in England

This animation explains how the urgent and emergency care system fits together and shows how solving problems in A&E requires a joined-up response across all services.

A close up of a bar chart in bright colours

What’s going on with A&E waiting times?

Waiting times in accident and emergency (A&E) departments are a key measure of how the NHS is performing. In recent years, patients have been waiting longer in A&E; here we look at why that is.

What does the NHS England review of waiting times mean for accident and emergency departments?

As NHS England proposes new waiting times targets, Siva Anandaciva weighs up the impact of the four-hour target and outlines seven key issues for the new standards that have been proposed for emergency departments.

Inside England’s first accident and emergency department for older people

With accident and emergency performance reaching new lows across England, one NHS hospital is taking an innovative approach to meet the needs of its older patients.

The politics of health: what do the public think about the NHS?

Dan Wellings reviews the polls to uncover what the public are looking for from politicians when it comes to the NHS.

More NHS in a nutshell

The NHS in a nutshell

Essential facts and figures to understand how the NHS works

Hospital beds over time

Data visualisation

The number of hospital beds

Over the past three decades the number of hospital beds has been declining in England. This is a result of medical advances and a shift in policy towards providing treatment and care outside hospital.

Donut chart showing calls made to the ambulance service and NHS 111 in 2018/19

Data visualisation

Activity in the NHS

Over the past 10 years, it has often been stated that the NHS treats more than a million people every 36 hours, but is that still true? We analyse NHS activity pre-Covid-19 and explore some of the underlying trends that lie behind these headline statistics.

You may also be interested in

Five reasons why this NHS winter may be different

Siva Anandaciva considers the prospects for a NHS dealing with winter pressures, workforce challenges and limited funding, while planning for a no-deal Brexit.

The King's Fund responds to today's NHS England's combined performance summary

‘Amidst the political rhetoric of the general election campaign, today’s statistics lay bare the stark reality for patients across the country who are struggling to access NHS hospital services,' says Richard Murray, Chief Executive of The King's Fund.

The King's Fund responds to the latest NHS hospital performance data

'These increasingly commonplace long waits for emergency care are not just frustrating; they are potentially dangerous', says Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst of The King's Fund.

A close up of a bar chart in bright colours

What’s going on with A&E waiting times?

Waiting times in accident and emergency (A&E) departments are a key measure of how the NHS is performing. In recent years, patients have been waiting longer in A&E; here we look at why that is.