Accident and emergency

A&E attendances and waiting times

Figures for how many people spend over four hours in A&E from initial arrival to admission, transfer or discharge are published every week by NHS England. They show the total number of people attending A&E departments overall and by local department, broken down by the type of department (major, minor or specialist). They also show the number of patients who wait more than 12 hours from a decision to admit them to hospital to their eventual admission. Historical weekly figures date back to 2010.

Figures dating back to 2004/05 are available, but are quarterly rather than weekly.

The average and median amount of time people actually spend in A&E is published separately by NHS Digital as A&E quality indicators.

More detailed figures on the distribution of waiting times were published in a Focus on Accident and Emergency report covering the 2012/13 year.

Detailed figures for A&E attendances covering the age and sex of visitors, of the hour, day and mode of arrival, as well as the diagnoses and treatment that result from visits, are published by NHS Digital as annual A&E attendances.

Figures for Scotland are published by Information Services Division Scotland. Figures for Wales are published by the NHS Wales Informatics Service. Figures for Northern Ireland are published by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety.

Ambulance performance

Ambulance quality indicators are published every month by NHS England and cover the number and type of emergency calls received by ambulance trusts, as well as the time taken to respond to calls and emergencies and the number of journeys made by ambulances as a result of calls.

Winter pressures and ambulance queues

It’s a time of year dreaded by many care providers – particularly A&E departments. Since last year NHS England has published daily situation reports from November to February on pressures facing local NHS trusts such as: A&E closures and diversions, ambulances delayed and queuing outside hospitals, people waiting on trolleys, cancelled operations and delayed transfers of care.

NHS 111

NHS 111 is a non-emergency medical helpline which operates in England and Scotland, which can dispatch ambulances if necessary. Figures on how often it’s used, details about calling experience and how calls are resolved in England are published monthly by NHS England.