A&E performance in January was 'worst ever recorded'

The huge scale of the winter crisis in the NHS emerged today as new figures showed A&E performance in January was the worst ever recorded.

NHS England said only 88.7 per cent of patients were treated within four hours, the lowest total for any month since the measurement began in 2010.

The previous month was the second worst December on record, with 91 per cent treated in four hours compared with a target of 95 per cent.

Demand for emergency care also soared: 1,906,920 people attended A&Es in England in January — 10.1 per cent more than in January last year.

Almost 485,000 patients were so ill that they had to be admitted to a ward, 4.6 per cent more than in January 2015.

Medics attribute the rise in demand to the ageing population, with more elderly patients needing a bed, often for infections and respiratory illnesses.

There was a huge backlog unable to be discharged because of a lack of beds elsewhere, either in a “step down” unit, care home or sheltered accommodation.

There were 159,089 “delayed transfers of care” in January, almost 8,700 more than a year earlier.

It was also the eighth month in a row during which ambulance services failed to reach 75 per cent of the most serious 999 calls in eight minutes.

The NHS 111 non-emergency helpline received 1,366,094 calls.

Richard Barker, NHS England interim national director, said: “We saw record demand. Against this backdrop it’s not surprising hospitals saw a dip in performance. It is a credit to all in emergency care that we are still admitting, treating and discharging almost nine out of 10 patients in four hours.”