NHS bosses ordered to prioritise emergency treatment for the sickest patients rather than worry about targets
NHS bosses have been ordered to prioritise emergency treatment for the sickest patients this winter rather than worry about targets.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting called an urgent meeting with Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, and hospital and ambulance leaders.
It comes amid huge pressure on the NHS, which has been hit by a 350 per cent increase in hospital flu cases compared to the same week last year.
On average, there are nearly 1,100 people in hospital with flu daily amid fears of a so-called “quad-demic”.
Mr Streeting told bosses to focus on keeping ambulances on the road and cutting deadly delays in A&E.
He warned them off gaming the system to hit targets by rushing less sick patients through before complex cases.
The Health Secretary said: “This winter I want to see patient safety prioritised as we brace ourselves for the coming months.
“I’m asking NHS trusts to focus on ambulance delays, handovers and the longest A&E waits.”
Ambulance patients should be offloaded to casualty within 15 minutes but NHS figures show 68 per cent currently wait longer, with one in seven waiting over an hour.
Handover delays mean ambulances take longer to arrive at the next patient.
Category 2 calls, including suspected strokes and heart attacks, currently take 42 minutes against the 18-minute target.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: “The NHS is already seeing unprecedented demand going into winter with flu cases quadrupling.
“We know services are set to come under even more strain.”
Dr Adrian Boyle, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “What contributed to hundreds of avoidable deaths per week last year was stays of 12 hours or more.
“Efforts to reduce stays of this length must be given the same priority as treating people within the current target of four-hours.
“This is a matter of life and death.”
Other doctors hit back at Mr Streeting’s comments as unreasonable.
Dr Tim Cooksley, of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “The stark reality is not that hospitals and staff on the frontline are manipulating targets but that they are simply unable to deliver safe and effective care because there is insufficient workforce and capacity.”