NHS faces 'bleakest winter yet' as number waiting 12 hours in A&E for bed doubles

More than 50,000 patients waiting four hours or more in corridors and trolleys

Overcrowded A&E departments haven’t hit waiting time targets since 2015 but experts have warned they should not be abandoned to spare ministers’ blushes (Getty)

Twice as many patients spent 12 hours or more sitting in A&E trolleys waiting for a bed in November as in the same month last year, as experts warn of the ”the bleakest winter” in NHS history.

A&E performance figures show 54,000 people waited more than four hours for a bed after the hospital had decided they were sick enough to admit.

In this figure, 258 patients waited more than 12 hours for a bed, compared to just 107 waiting in November 2017.

The numbers released on Tuesday reveal the worst November A&E performance on record, with just 87.6 per cent of patients admitted, treated or sent home within four hours attending A&E.

Experts said this was a worrying symptom of unprecedented pressures in 2018, which lasted right through to summer, and which The Independent revealed has scuppered hospitals’ ability to prepare for winter.

In many cases the number of patients who waited more than 12 hours may also have been waiting to be seen at A&E before a decision to admit them.

The NHS is coping with steadily increasing demand, with 2.04 million attendances last month.

Improvements across social care mean many patients are sent home quickly after discharge, freeing up the equivalent of 742 beds across the NHS.

But experts warned there aren’t enough staff available to open up additional beds if more capacity is needed.

“This is deeply troubling,” Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said. ”Hospitals are now having to operate at unsafe levels – several are at full bed capacity and over a third are operating at 97 per cent or above bed occupancy.

“The cold, hard reality is that the NHS cannot keep pace with demand. These figures suggest we could be heading for one of the bleakest winters yet.”

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund thinktank, said the number of long waits at A&E was “significantly higher than last year”.

“These figures show little slack in a system which is operating consistently in the red zone,” he added.

The figures for November come as the NHS is reviewing long-standing benchmarks like the four-hour target, and considering removing minor injuries which can safely wait.

But the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and others have criticised the plan, saying that they continue to help improve care and shouldn’t be revised for political convenience.

An NHS England spokesman said: “NHS staff continue to work hard to deal with increased demand across the board, seeing 1,000 more people within four hours in A&E every day in November compared to last year.

“A growing proportion of people are getting same day emergency care which prevents the need for an overnight stay, and hospitals have freed up an additional 742 beds by working closely with councils to help more people return home with the right care in place.

“As the colder weather begins to set in it’s vital that the NHS and local authorities continue to work together to help people stay well and out of hospital wherever possible, and the public can also help the NHS staff by making sure they have their free NHS flu jab if eligible, and by using NHS 111 as their first port of call for non-emergencies.”

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “While government remains paralysed by Brexit infighting, the NHS is struggling as a result of years of underfunding, cuts and staffing shortages.

“Rather than their self-interest, Tory ministers must start prioritising patients’ interests by outlining proposals for the NHS this winter.”