By stewartb

Because of different publication schedules, there is a delay before a direct comparison of A&E waiting times performance for the latest month can be made for the NHS across the UK. Direct comparisons for the month of June, 2023 can now be made: the focus is on England, Scotland and Wales.

Rather than rely on own analysis and interpretation of raw official data, fully referenced extracts from statements published by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM: see under ‘Press & Media’ tab of its website) are used. The variations in the key metrics are summarised at the end of the blog post.

NHS England (https://rcem.ac.uk/15254-2/ )

FOUR HOUR STANDARD: ‘Four-hour performance at major Emergency Departments was 60.2%’

EIGHT HOUR WAITS: not reported

12 HOUR WAITS: ‘108,225 patients waited 12-hours or more from their time of arrival

This accounts for 8% of Type 1 Emergency Department attendances.’

Scotland (https://rcem.ac.uk/now-is-the-time-to-plan-and-prepare-for-winter-rcem-says-as-ae-performance-improves-across-scotland/ )

FOUR HOUR STANDARD: ‘69% of patients were seen within four-hours at major Emergency Departments.’

EIGHT HOUR WAITS: ’9,489 (8.2%) patients waited eight-hours or more in an Emergency Department.’

12 HOUR WAITS: ‘2,991 (2.6%) patients waited more than 12-hours before being seen, admitted, discharged, or transferred.’

Wales (https://rcem.ac.uk/ae-delays-persist-in-wales-as-one-in-eight-patients-faced-a-12-hour-wait-in-june/ )

• FOUR HOUR STANDARD: ’62.5% of patients in major Emergency Departments were admitted, transferred, or discharged within four-hours from arrival’

• EIGHT HOUR WAITS: ’20% of major Emergency Department attendances waited more than eight-hours (15,269 patients). This means that one in five patients were delayed eight-hours or more at a major Emergency Department’

• 12 HOUR WAITS: ‘3% (sic) of major Emergency Department attendances waited more than 12-hours (8,433 patients). This means more than one in eight patients were delayed by 12-hours or more.’ There is an error in the RCEM’s reporting!

The error is in the percentage of attendances experiencing 12 hour waits. From elsewhere in the same RCEM statement: ‘There were 68,330 attendances to major Emergency Departments’. It reports 8,433 patients waiting 12 hours or more. By calculation,this equates to 12.3% (NOT 3%!).

Summary

Based on the RCEM’s own assessment of official waiting times performance in June for the NHS in England, Scotland and Wales:

• attendances meeting the four hour standard: varies between 69% in Scotland (best) to 60.2% in England

• attendances with eight hour waits: varies between 8.2% in Scotland (best) and 20% in Wales

• attendances with 12 hour waits: varies between 2.6% in Scotland (best) and 12.3% in Wales.

End note

Despite the marked performance differences between the NHS ‘territories’ – confirmed by its own interpretation of and statements on official statistics – the RCEM seems NEVER explicitly to acknowledge these contrasts, never appears to offer a view on the underlying reasons for them. (And such differences favourable to NHS Scotland, discernible by cross-inspection of RCEM’s regular statements, are far from unique to June 2023!)

Because the RCEM never makes these favourable comparisons explicit is no reason why BBC Scotland – as a public service media organisation with so much journalistic and research resource – could not, should not provide this kind of information as a public service.

The case for doing so is especially strong given it’s a topic – A&E waits in Scotland – that BBC Scotland has spent so much effort over a prolonged period of time publishing context-free, perspective-free negative reports. And we know only too well that time after time it has given, uncritically, a platform on the topic to opposition politicians in Scotland whose own parties run the governments responsible for the NHS in England and Wales!