Wes Streeting has ordered health chiefs to prioritise safety over targets this winter in a move that is likely see many patients wait longer in A&E.
The health secretary said hospitals should focus on treating people with the ‘greatest clinical need’ in order to reduce avoidable deaths.
Some hospitals have previously been accused of gaming the system by treating the easiest patients first, while forcing complex cases to wait.
This meant they were more likely to hit the target of admitting or discharging 95 per cent of patients within four hours – but placed the more serious patients at greater risk of harm.
Analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggests there were almost 300 deaths a week associated with long A&E waits last year, when more than 1.5 million patients waited 12 hours or more.
Mr Streeting hauled trust leaders and NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard into an urgent meeting yesterday morning to issue his demands in person.
He insisted they focus on improving ambulance response times, addressing handover delays and tackling the longest waits in A&E.
Wes Streeting (pictured) has ordered health chiefs to prioritise safety over targets this winter in a move that is likely see many patients wait longer in A&E
The health secretary said hospitals should focus on treating people with the ‘greatest clinical need’ in order to reduce avoidable deaths (stock image)
The edict comes just days after NHS bosses warned the service is going into winter under more pressure than ever before, with ‘skyrocketing’ flu heralding the start of a ‘quad-demic’.
The number of people in hospital with flu has more than quadrupled compared with last year, with Covid-19, norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) also circulating.
Meanwhile, six out of ten ambulance services in England were at their highest level of alert last week, meaning they were facing ‘extreme pressure’ with a risk of ‘service failure’.
Demand was so high that West Midlands Ambulance Service had to ask people who dialled 999 with a heart attack or stroke to make their own way to hospital.
Speaking after the meeting at NHS England headquarters in London, Mr Streeting said: ‘This winter I want to see patient safety prioritised as we brace ourselves for the coming months.
‘I’m asking trusts to focus on ambulance delays, handovers and the longest A&E waits.
‘We’ve already taken immediate action to keep patients safe by ending strikes – meaning this is the first winter in three years without staff on the picket line.
Six out of ten ambulance services in England were at their highest level of alert last week, meaning they were facing ‘extreme pressure’ with a risk of ‘service failure’ (stock image)
’I’d appeal to all eligible people to join the 27 million who have already protected themselves and the NHS, and get vaccinated.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents healthcare organisations, welcomed the focus on emergency care but said the government ‘must be clear with the public about what the consequences of this decision are’.
He warned: ‘Performance targets will be missed and some patients will be left waiting longer for care.
‘This winter is already expected to be incredibly tough.
‘A&E, ambulance and GP demand are at record levels, flu and ambulance handover delays are worse than last year, and staff sickness is already high.
‘Prioritising patient safety across the urgent and emergency care pathway is likely to result in elective operations being delayed or cancelled, so waiting lists could rise as a result.’
Dr Tim Cooksley, immediate past president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said failing to increase capacity and workforce will ‘condemn patients to waiting prolonged periods for elective procedures and experiencing appalling overcrowded conditions in emergency care’.
Ms Pritchard said: ‘The NHS is already seeing unprecedented demand going into winter, with flu cases quadrupling, thousands more ambulance callouts and rising pressures causing unacceptable waits for patients.
‘As always, the public have an important part to play in helping NHS staff over winter, by calling 999 and using A&E in an emergency only, while using NHS 111 to access the right support for urgent health needs.’