Fewer people to be treated in A&E, as government announce plan to cut 'corridor care'

ITV News

14 hours ago

Fewer people will be seen at A&E under government plans to cut "corridor care" and treat people closer to their homes.
The government says more needs to be done to drive down long waits, cut delayed discharges and improve care for patients.
The plans will see almost £450 million spent on creating better care and more treatment facilities away from hospitals to tackle the crisis in A&E.
Under the plans, paramedics will play a bigger role in the community, with patients given 'more effective treatment at the scene of an accident or in their own homes from ambulance crews'.
More patients will also be seen by urgent community response teams in their homes to try to avoid hospital admission.
Why is the government doing this?
One of Labour's central promises when they won the election last year was to "build an NHS fit for the future" - part of that effort has been a focus on driving down A&E waiting times and initiatives to treat more people in the community.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'No patient should ever be left waiting for hours in hospital corridors or for an ambulance which ought to arrive in minutes.
'We can't fix more than a decade of underinvestment and neglect overnight.
'But through the measures we're setting out today, we will deliver faster and more convenient care for patients in emergencies."
What's the money going towards?
40 new same day emergency care and urgent treatment centres to treat and discharge patients the same day, avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital.
500 new ambulances rolled out across the country by March 2026.
15 mental health crisis assessment centres, designed to ensure mentally ill people do not have to wait in A&E for hours for care.
What targets has the government set itself?
Ministers say 800,000 fewer people a year will have to wait more than four hours in A&E.
The government wants to slash the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours for a hospital bed – or to be discharged from A&E – so this occurs 'less than 10% of the time".
Further measures in the plan are intended to drive down delayed discharges from hospital, which occur when people are medically fit to leave but care in their homes or community has not yet been put in place.
Local performance targets will be set to improve patient discharge times, and 'eliminate internal discharge delays of more than 48 hours in all settings', the plan said.
A&E 'league tables' will also be published to drive up performance.
The plan further sets out how ambulance waiting times for category 2 patients – such as those suffering stroke, heart attack, sepsis or major trauma – will be cut by more than 14%, from 35 to 30 minutes. A previous target of 18 minutes has been repeatedly missed.
In the document, there is an aim to 'eradicate' last winter's lengthy ambulance handover delays by meeting a maximum 45-minute target for patients to be handed over to A&E.
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How have healthcare bodies responded?
Royal College of Emergency Medicine president Dr Adrian Boyle said: 'There is some good and some bad – but we wholeheartedly welcome the commitment to publish A&E performance data for each and every hospital and we thank NHS England and the Department of Health for heeding our recommendation.
'In this plan, for possibly the first time, NHS England acknowledges the shameful situation being experienced by patients and clinicians across the country's emergency departments – and that must be commended.
'However, some parts lack ambition – for example accepting that 10% of people will face A&E waits of more than 12 hours, when no patient should.
'Also maintaining the four-hour standard at 78% when the stated aim is that 95% of patients should move through the emergency department within this time – something which hasn't happened for a decade.'
He said there were also concerns about how the maximum 45-minute ambulance handover will be achieved 'without exposing patients to risk and increasing overcrowding in our departments'.
Association of Ambulance Chief Executives managing director Anna Parry said: 'We are particularly heartened to see the plan's emphasis on the reduction and improved management of hospital handover delays.
'Handover delays have the greatest detrimental impact on ambulance resources and create unnecessary delays and additional harm for thousands of patients each year.
'The elimination of corridor care and the focus on reducing 12-hour waits at emergency departments is also welcomed.'