English media misinterpret A&E waiting times* to let Labour of-the-hook and conceal gap with NHS Scotland treating 11 000 more on time, every month, than would have been treated in NHS England

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

Professor John Robertson OBA

In the Guardian today:

In emergency departments, 75% of patients were seen within four hours last month [March], up from 73.4% in February.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/10/hospitals-in-england-to-get-unlimited-incentive-payments-for-patients-taken-off-waiting-lists

This is a common, sometimes confused, sometimes intentional, misrepresentation of the facts to suggest A&E in England is performing better than it is and, in BBC broadcasts, to suggest it is performing better than in Scotland.

In the above NHS England table, you’ll see that for Type 1 emergency departments, only 60.9% were treated within 4 hours.

What is Type 1?

Type 1 A&E department = A consultant led 24 hour service with full resuscitation facilities and designated accommodation for the reception of accident and emergency patients.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/03/AE-Attendances-Emergency-Definitions-v2.0-Final.pdf

Only Type 1 departments are the kind of A&E facility you might imagine and see on TV.

In Scotland, for the same period, March 2025, the figure was 65.9%, 8.2% better:

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/healthcare-system/urgent-and-unscheduled-care/accident-and-emergency/interactive-charts/how-long-people-spend-in-ae/

8.2%? Not much? Remember that means more than 11 000 per month (average 136 000) seen within time who would not have been in NHS England.

*AND Why might we not trust the NHS England figures?

Royal College tells NHS England to copy NHS Scotland and tell the truth3

BBC Scotland has accused NHS England of fiddling the figures by selection which departments are included 4

NHS England starts the clock again after patients are admitted while NHS Scotland counts from arrival in A&E5

Sources:

  1. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-backlog-data-analysis#:~:text=Waiting%20times%20have%20rocketed,for%20them%20in%20social%20care.
  2. https://www.rcem.ac.uk/docs/Policy/Summer%20to%20Recover.pdf
  3. https://fullfact.org/health/fiddled-accident-emergency-statistics/

7 thoughts on “English media misinterpret A&E waiting times* to let Labour of-the-hook and conceal gap with NHS Scotland treating 11 000 more on time, every month, than would have been treated in NHS England”

  1. Massaging the Health figures by the Media to make Scotland look worse ?

    No ! I’m sure that Jackie Baillie would be all over this as she is a stickler for accuracy .

    And that hard working GP , Brylcreem Gulhane , would be in front of a BBC camera ( NHS lanyard prominently displayed ) if he thought for one moment that there was any attempt to talk down the Scottish NHS by the Media – after all , that’s HIS job !

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. “Massaging the Health figures by the Media”

      They even have their own ‘Massage Parlours’ but most of them are based down South….aka their HQ’s…whose main job it seems, is to try and help to ‘relax the figures’, but not for Scotland’s benefit or indeed the Scottish government’s benefit either.

      😉

      Liz S

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      1. @ Bob , Ha Ha

        Labour in Wales refuse to ask for Baillie’s help as recently they declared it “illegal to lie in Politics” which makes her unable to assist them, for obvious reasons.

        😉

        Liz S

        Liked by 2 people

        Reply

  2. ‘ What, take a set of figures and make them say anything you want, where’s the job satisfaction in that! ‘

    That was my daughters reply, when I suggested accountancy as a career option almost 40 years ago.

    Maybe she didn’t realise the job opportunities at the BBC, lol.

    Liked by 3 people

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