The Government has pledged to invest £100m into the NHS in a bid to tackle waiting times in accide...
The Government has pledged to invest £100m into the NHS in a bid to tackle waiting times in accident and emergency (A&E) departments. Of this investment, £40m will be used to fund an additional 25,000 operations in the private sector.
The announcement coincides with a report from the Audit Commission, which reveals that A&E waiting times are now longer they were five years ago.
The commission assessed waiting times, staffing, quality and information and found that waiting times have become progressively worse, despite an increase in the number of A&E doctors.
Trends to emerge from the report show that waiting times are dependent on which part of the country you live. Most patients in the south west are likely to be seen within an hour, while those in London only have a 30% chance of being seen in an hour.
However, the new accident and emergency strategy announced by the Government is set to ease the problem.
Alan Milburn, health secretary, said: 'Waiting is the public's number one concern about the NHS. We are determined to tackle waiting in A&E, whether that is waiting to be seen by a doctor, or waiting to be admitted on a trolley.'
Initiatives from the Government include a new queuing system which will separate those with minor injuries from those with more serious problems and an additional 600 members of staff to be draughted into A&E departments.
He said: '£40m will be used to employ more A&E nurses in the NHS. Another £40m will buy more operations in the private sector. This investment will get more operations done, more NHS patients treated and free up more NHS beds.
'Investment on its own is not enough. We are already taking action to tackle bed-blocking, train and recruit more NHS staff, use spare capacity in private hospitals and increase the number of available beds in NHS hospitals. The next step in cutting waits in A&E is a reform of A&E.'
However, the Commission believes there is still a long way to go before every patient is seen quickly and treated well.
