This quarter's report aims to take stock of what has happened over the past year and assess the state of the health and care system halfway through the £20 billion Nicholson Challenge.
The report finds that for the final quarter of 2012/13, nearly 6 per cent of patients waited four hours or longer in A&E, the highest level since 2004.
The growing pressure on hospitals is also reflected in a survey of NHS finance directors carried out for the report. This suggests that, although the NHS will end 2012/13 in a healthy financial position, the outlook for the next two years is bleak, with the majority expecting the NHS to fail to meet its target to deliver £20 billion in productivity improvements by 2015.
Despite the pressures in emergency care, other NHS performance measures are continuing to hold up well. Waiting times for referral to treatment in hospital, the number of health care-acquired infections and delays in transferring patients out of hospital all remain stable.
Poor English is also spoken by "the English" some I have met cannot read either and I found myself having to speak slowly and use very simple language as one would with a child.
I really hope that last comment was a joke. Apart from the fact that the NHS relies on imported labour to function, Mr. Rule takes 'patience' (sic) to task for 'habing little or no knowledge of English' although he appears barely literate himself. Time to end the immigration myth, also known as thinly-veiled racism.
I work as a consultant. Little or no English doesn't equate to being non-British. I guess the question is how easy is it for minority groups to access / navigate primary care services. It's ignorant to put this just to immigrants. Very easy place to blame all problems
I'd be interested to know the structure of your question regarding the £20bn productivity improvement targets. Whilst most FDs should be expected to know how their organisation is doing against their own targets, it's unrealistic expect them to have anything other than an opinion about others' achievements. So yes, they may be gloomy, but more importantly, is that because of their own organisation's failure to reach those targets?
The data is misleading to begin with. I know of patients who have been taken to A&E by paramedics who have had to wait in the corridor for 4-5 hours because A&E wouldn't meet its targets if they were handed over. Potentially dangerous practice, not just for the patient lying on a stretcher for 5 hours, but also because the paramedics are not able to answer calls.
On a different slant, it is being reported widely that District Nurses do not have adequate staffing levels and are not always able to undertake the required patient visits. Unless this is addressed pressure on A&E will only increase.
I have been watching you on BBC and wonder why impact of people from other countries are always skirted round. I have spent a lot of time in A@E of recent and have been shocked in the numbers of patience with little or no knowledge of english, and arriving with no medical records. Is it just political incorrect to mention how severe immigrants impact these targets !
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On a different slant, it is being reported widely that District Nurses do not have adequate staffing levels and are not always able to undertake the required patient visits. Unless this is addressed pressure on A&E will only increase.
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