Waiting times in English emergency departments reach eight year high

The number of patients having to wait more than four hours for treatment in hospital emergency departments in England has reached an eight year high, the health think tank the King’s Fund has reported.1

Overall, however, the NHS was performing well in 2011-12, with an estimated £1.5bn (€1.9bn; $2.4bn) surplus for the year, it says, and waiting times for hospital treatment were generally stable, while numbers of hospital associated infections continued to fall, as did waiting times for diagnostic tests.

In its latest quarterly monitoring report on NHS performance, published on 31 May, the King’s Fund presented a mixed picture of the NHS’s performance, with some positive observations alongside several noted concerns.

The proportion of patients waiting more than four hours in emergency …