Record levels of hospital patients waiting on trollies, NHS think tank warns

Tens of thousands of patients forced to wait for hours after being admitted to hospital

1,043 patients waited more than 12 hours from a decision to admit until their admission on to a ward in January (Getty)

Trolley waits reached record levels in England throughout the month of January, figures from health think tank King’s Fund have found.

Tens of thousands of patients were forced to wait for hours on end after being deemed sick enough to be admitted to hospital after attending A&E, according to new analysis.

The think tank’s latest report highlights how in the first month of the year, more than 81,000 patients waited longer than four hours from a decision to admit until their admission on to a ward.

Meanwhile, 1,043 patients waited more than 12 hours, the highest on record, it added.

​Richard Murray, director of policy at The King’s Fund, said: “The way waiting times are designed means that there is very little protection for people who can’t be treated within the initial time limit.

“With demand for services likely to remain high, it’s very unlikely that meeting these targets will become more achievable.

“The waiting time standards should not be abandoned but the NHS needs to ensure the way they are implemented does not leave patients who are not treated within the time limits facing long waits for treatment.”

The news comes as doctors revealed that NHS intensive care units (ICUs) are being forced to send patients elsewhere due to a lack of beds.

Four in five ICUs have chronic bed and staff shortages and are being forced to send patients to other hospitals, according to The Guardian, with patients being transferred from one ICU to another for non-clinical reasons in 80 per cent of hospitals.

Meanwhile the King’s Fund latest quarterly monitoring report highlights that patients receiving routine treatment are also experiencing longer waiting times.

While patients are expected to start treatment for routine care within 18 weeks from a referral from a GP, the King’s Fund said that in December 12 per cent of people waited longer than this, the highest level since 2009.

And the number of patients waiting more than 52 weeks for treatment increased to 1,750.

The think tank warned there was “very little protection for people who can’t be treated within the initial time limit”.

Deputy chief executive NHS Providers Saffron Cordery said: “NHS trusts and frontline staff are doing all they can to ensure patients receive safe and timely care.

“But as these findings show, it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve this when demand for treatment is growing so quickly, and funding is so tight.

“It is disturbing to see that ‘trolley waits’ have reached record levels. Patients deserve better.

“It is also disappointing to see so many people waiting longer than 18 weeks for planned routine operations. It feels like we are losing the hard-won gains of the last decade.

“We have reached a watershed moment. We need to see urgent steps towards establishing a long-term funding solution for health and social care.”

Additional reporting by agencies