Monday 20 January 2020

The four-hour NHS waiting time target saves lives - government should think carefully about changes

The four-hour NHS waiting time target saves lives - government should think carefully about changes The national Accident and Emergency (A&E) four-hour waiting time target is once again in the news headlines. Performance against this recently fell to the lowest since records began, with only 79.8% of patients in December 2019 admitted, discharged or transferred to another hospital within 4 hours as opposed to the 95% standard.

Recent comments from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock suggest that the existing target is likely to be scrapped, echoing the interim recommendations of an ongoing review into NHS clinical targets that would replace the target with new goals that focus on reducing initial treatment times for severe cases and introducing an average waiting time target for all patients.

But what does the target – and any potential changes to it – actually mean for patients? Institute for Fiscal Studies

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