English ambulances only took 32 minutes on average to respond to emergencies like heart attacks in January, according to the latest NHS data.
The figure is a massive improvement on the record hour-and-a-half wait for an ambulance for category 2 emergencies recorded in December.
However, it is still double the NHS target that paramedics should arrive on the scene within 18 minutes of these calls on average, which also include suspected strokes and major burns.
The data also show that about one-in-four of 999 calls made by desperate Brits went unanswered by operators in January.
In comparison December saw only a one-five calls going unanswered despite that month being far busier for NHS ambulance services.
Both months saw industrial action by unions representing ambulance drivers, paramedics and 999 call handlers disrupt NHS services.
January saw some minor relief for ambulance response times with Brits suffering from suspected heart attacks and strokes only having to wait 32 minutes on average for an ambulance down from a record high of 90 minutes in December. However the figure is still double the official target that Brits should only wait an average of 18 minutes in such emergencies
NHS A&E data for january shows 42,735 people seeking emergency care were forced to wait at least 12 hours (yellow bar). Meanwhile, only 72.4 per cent of A&E attendees were seen within four hours (red line) NHS target
Around 7.2million patients in England remained stuck in the backlog in December (red line)— about one in eight of the population. More than 400,000 have queued for at least one year (yellow bars)
However, NHS chiefs hailed the results as a sign that the beleaguered health service was improving, and that officials’ winter plans were working.
But NHS services were still failing to meet ambulance response targets for the direst of emergences, category 1 calls.
Ambulances aim to get to such calls, which include emergencies like a cardiac arrest, or a patient not breathing, within seven minutes.
In January crews took an average of eight minutes and 30 seconds to respond to category 1 calls, 90 seconds more than the target.
While above the target it is still an improvement on December’s figure when Brits suffering these types of emergencies had to wait almost 11 minutes on average.
NHS officials highlighted that this month was the busiest January on record for these type of calls with 72,861, 20 per cent more than the pre-pandemic figure recorded that same month in 2020.
In terms of 999 calls Brits made 930,000 calls for ambulance services in January, far below the some 1.3million calls recorded in December.
But in January only 680,000 were answered by operators, about 73 per cent of the total.
This is a smaller proportion compared to December when, despite being busier, almost 80 per cent of 999 class were answered.
NHS bed-blocking reaches record levels
NHS data shows that on average 13,959 beds were occupied by patients that doctors had declared fit for discharge each day last month, a record monthly figure.
The health service said this equated to less than half of of patients (45.8 per cent) who were ready to leave hopital being discharged.
It came despite the NHS efforts to boost the number beds by 10 per cent this January compared to the same time last year.
The figures also come despite a supposed crackdown on the problem and £250million of additional funding allocated by officials to tackle the crisis.
Delays in getting patients out of hospital have been largely blamed on a shortage of care home places and a lack of carers who can help people cook, wash and eat in their own home.
But local councils have said they are being unfairly blamed for the problem and claim half of the delays are within the NHS’s own control, such as patients waiting for the correct paperwork or prescriptions from hospital pharmacies.
Bed-blocking limits the amount of available beds in hospital slowing the rate at which patients can be admitted to hospital for routine surgery or in an emergency.
It also causes a bottleneck in A&E, with patients left waiting on trolleys until there is space on a ward and ambulances forced to queue outside until there is room inside.
The problem can also impact the patients stuck in beds themselves through no fault of their own leaving them at risk of health problems from a lack of mobility.
NHS A&E performance in January was similarly better than December, but below targets.
Nearly 1,400 people had to wait over 12 hours in A&E after being admitted each day in January, down from the 1,800 figure for the month prior.
And more Brits were seen within the four-hour target, 72.4 per cent of the total, compared to a record low of 65 per cent in December.
Under NHS targets no patient should have wait more than four hours for treatment post admission.
Overall, nearly 2million people attended A&E in January of which 508,743 were admitted, about one-in-four.
Other NHS data showed the NHS’s record elective care backlog, for operations like knee and hip replacements, remained stable at 7.2million in December.
Waiting lists for operations have soared since Covid emerged, with the pandemic and its knock-on effects forcing hospitals to re-prioritise efforts.
The latest data shows over 400,000 people in England have waited over a year for their operation, with nearly 55,000 of these having waited over 18 months.
Cancer care in England also continued to fail to meet NHS targets.
Only 62 per cent of cancer patients started treatment within two months from an urgent GP cancer referral.
The NHS target is for 85 per cent of patients to start treatment in this time frame, meaning 5,381 were forced to wait too long.
And despite NHS efforts to boost the number of beds by 10 per cent this January than the same time last year bed-blocking reached a record high this month.
NHS data shows that on average 13,959 beds were occupied by patients that doctors had declared fit for discharge each day last month, a record monthly figure.
The health service said this equated to less than half of of patients (45.8 per cent) who were ready to leave hopital being discharged.
The figures come despite a supposed crackdown on the problem and £250million of additional funding allocated to tackle the crisis.
Commenting on the data NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said it showed the commitment of staff to care for patients despite the challenges.
The delays have been largely blamed on a shortage of care home places and a lack of carers who can help people cook, wash and eat in their own home.
But local councils have previously said they are being unfairly blamed for the problem and claim half of the delays are within the NHS’s own control, such as patients waiting for the correct paperwork or prescriptions from hospital pharmacies.
Bed-blocking has been blamed for contributing to A&E delays and the NHS care backlog as it limits the number of beds available for other patients.
Commenting on today’s data NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said it showed the commitment of staff to care for patients despite the challenges.
NHS cancer data for December shows that just six in 10 started treatment within two months from an urgent GP cancer referral (red line), leaving 5381 (blue line) patients waiting more than 62 days for cancer care
NHS figures reveal an average of 13,959 beds were occupied by patients that doctors had declared fit for discharge each day in January, a new monthly record, NHS figures reveal
‘Today’s figures show that despite ongoing pressures across the health service, including industrial action, NHS staff are continuing to work flat-out to deliver the best care for patients, with ambulance response times improving last month as the NHS continued to progress on its winter plan,’ he said.
He added that while NHS staff strikes had hindered progress on tackling the elective care backlog the health service was still making progress.
‘And while strike action inevitably impacted on progress on the waiting list backlog, the NHS is making good progress toward virtually eliminating 18-month waits by April,’ he said.
Four-out-of-10 cancer patients wait too long to start treatment in England
Cancer care in England has continued to fail to meet NHS targets.
Only 62 per cent of cancer patients started treatment within two months from an urgent GP cancer referral in December.
The NHS target is for 85 per cent of patients to start treatment in this time frame, meaning 5,381 were forced to wait too long.
Other NHS cancer targets also failed to be met in the last month of 2022.
Only 80 per cent of people with an urgent referral from their family doctor for suspected cancer were seen by a consultant within a two week target.
The NHS target is for 93 per cent of patients to be seen in this time frame.
However, separate data shows that 21,273 NHS operations were cancelled at the last minute in the three months to the end of December 2022.
So-called last minute cancellations are classed as those that occur on the day of the planned operation or after a patient has already been admitted to hospital.
These cancellations were made for non-clinical reasons, such as staff shortages or a surge in emergency demand, rather than due to a change in the patient’s condition.
The data also show that 4,593 patients whose operations were cancelled were not treated within 28 days, in a breach of NHS standards.
Mr Tim Mitchell the vice president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said the numbers represented terrible suffering by patients.
‘The data published today show too many patients are still suffering the distress of having their operations cancelled at the last minute,’ he said.
‘Their lives, and sometimes livelihoods, remain on hold while they wait for a new date and the relief from pain that surgery will bring.
He added that while no surgeon wants to cancel an operation the demands on the NHS sadly put too many people through that ordeal.
‘No surgeon wants to be in the position of telling a patient their surgery has to be cancelled but the very high demand we have seen in emergency departments since the summer, and problems discharging patients who are ready to leave hospital when there is a lack of social care, mean this is too often what has to happen.
‘Gaps in the workforce also play a huge part. Often there will be a surgeon available to operate, but no theatre nurses or anaesthetists.’
Further disruption to the NHS and ambulance services is expected to be reflected in February’s data with multiple unions having held strike action this month.
NHS ambulance service members of the union GMB held a strike on Monday, alongside nurses from the Royal College of Nursing, who also held industrial action on Tuesday.
And today it was physiotherapists’ turn with their union, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, holding strike action.
And more is on the way, with ambulance service staff from the union Unison to strike on Friday.
Then GMB will return to the picket lines on February 20, with more strike action planned for March.
The dispute is over pay, with unions arguing staff are struggling amid the cost of living crisis and low pay is exacerbating staffing issues leading to worsening ambulance response times and NHS performance.
Union bosses are campaigning for an inflation busting pay boosts for the current financial year, though ministers say the 4 per cent rise offered is all the nation can afford.
