NHS figures show one in six patients waited longer than four hours in A&E last month

A&E waiting times are at their worst on record as the NHS comes under intense pressure before what doctors and hospital bosses fear will be a very tough winter for the service.

Less than three-quarters (74.5%) of people who sought care at A&E unit in England in October were treated and then discharged, admitted or transferred within four hours – the smallest proportion since the target was introduced in 2004.

That is far below the 95% of patients that ministers and NHS chiefs say should be dealt with by A&E staff within four hours.

“As political parties vie to prove their NHS credentials, today’s figures highlight that the NHS is desperately struggling to stay afloat,” said Dr Rebecca Fisher, a GP and senior policy fellow at the Health Foundation.

“Funding for the NHS has failed to keep pace with a rising need for healthcare. The NHS does not have enough staff, or enough equipment, to meet the needs of the population it serves.

“Staff work incredibly hard under increasing pressure, but ultimately can’t protect patients from feeling the effects. Behind these figures are people waiting often long and anxious waits, struggling in pain, or at risk of illness worsening in the meantime.”

The figures prompted warnings that patients were suffering because of fast mounting delays in accessing vital care. Labour seized on the figures, which may prove awkward for Boris Johnson, who has made the NHS a central plank of his election campaign.

“The Conservatives have ushered in the worst NHS crisis on record. Under Boris Johnson the NHS is in crisis and we’re heading for a winter of abject misery for patients,” said Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary.

“Our A&Es are overwhelmed, more so than ever. In every community there’s an ever-growing queue of people waiting for treatment. The Tories … should apologise to every patient languishing on a trolley and waiting longer for treatment.”

NHS England’s latest set of performance statistics, which were published on Thursday, revealed that hospitals also missed a series of key targets last month, including patient waiting times for cancer care and non-urgent operations, such as cataract removals, hernia repairs, and hip and knee replacements.

A&E performance was also its worst ever on NHS England’s preferred measurement, which includes people seen in hospital-based units, urgent care centres and walk-in centres. Just 83.6% of everyone seeking help in all types of A&Es were treated within four hours – again the lowest percentage since records began.

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The grim statistics are likely to add to growing fears in the NHS that services could really struggle to cope this coming winter with the annual spike in demand, especially if there is a major flu outbreak and with snow already falling in parts of England.

Many hospitals are also finding it increasingly difficult to respond to a fast-growing need for both urgent and non-urgent care because at least a third of doctors have begun working fewer shifts as a result of a continuing dispute over their pensions.

Thursday’s figures – the last before the general election on 12 December – showed that of the 1,376,282 people who attended a hospital-based A&E in October 908,168 were seen within four hours but 311,513 were not.

The data is slightly incomplete because figures from 14 NHS trusts which are taking part in a trial of a new measurement of A&E waiting times were not included.