NHS is facing one its “bleakest” winters after worst ever performance on key targets

Doctors have been warned that the NHS faces a “bleak” winter, as the latest figures showed the worst ever performance on key targets on waiting times. In October only 83.6% of patients at all types of emergency department and just 74.5% in major A&E departments were seen within four hours, against the target of 95%, show the official figures from NHS England.1

This was the lowest level since the target was introduced in 2004 and amounts to a sixth of patients waiting more than four hours. The number of people waiting on trolleys because no beds were available …