A&E waiting times in Birmingham: hospital trusts fail to hit November targets

Waits in England’s A&E departments have hit a new high, figures released on Thursday (9 December) show.

New NHS figures across England, show that just 68.9% of patients were seen within four hours in November, far below the 95% target, and NHS bodies across England warn they are facing their toughest winter yet.

These figures are the lowest since records began in 2010, which exceeded the target at 97.3%. The target of 95% of patients being seen by A&E within four hours hasn’t been met since July 2015, where 95.2% of people were seen within the recommended time frame. The figure has also been lower than 80% since July 2021.

There are record waits for care at England’s A&E departments. At least 95 per cent of A&E patients should be admitted to hospital, transferred to another provider or discharged within four hours. It’s a target which hasn’t been met since 2015, but the situation is getting worse.

What do the figures show for Birmingham and the West Midlands?

None of the hospital trusts in Birmingham managed to hit the target.

At the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust, 63.4% of patients were seen within four hours in November - also below the 95% target.

At the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, 72.3% of patients were seen within four hours.

And at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, just 51.1% of patients were seen within four hours in November.

How does this compare with other trusts across England?

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had the lowest number of patients seen within four hours in November at just 41.8% - less than half the target. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust and Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust also had low figures, with just 49.4% and 48.8% of patients seen within four hours at A&E respectively.

The performance across A&E departments varies greatly. Some trusts see 100% of patients within the four-hour target, while others don’t manage to see half of patients within that time. Look up your trust in this searchable table.

What’s been said about the figures?

NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care, Professor Julian Redhead, said: “Despite the ongoing pressures on services which are exacerbated by flu hospitalisations, issues in social care meaning we cannot discharge patients who are ready, and record numbers needing A&E, staff have powered through to bring down some of our longest waits for care.

“We have already said we are dealing with a perfect storm of pressures this winter, including increased demand for emergency are, and today announced an expansion of mental health crisis services which will ensure people suffering a mental health crisis get the help they need as quickly as possible, and reduce the chances of a patient needing to go to A&E.

“That is all on top of the measures announced NHS’ winter plan published in October which includes new hubs dedicated to respiratory infections and a falls response service to free up ambulance capacity.