Across the UK all NHS Trusts are required to meet waiting time targets and are monitored for compliance.
These include A&E, cancer care and planned operations & care (non-emergency treatment) waiting times.
Steevi Henderson, Solicitor for Fairweathers Solicitors LLP, reviews the figures relating to the following local acute Trusts:
- East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust;
- Medway NHS Foundation Trust;
- Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust; and
- Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust.
A&E waiting times
The English target for A&E waiting times is that 95% of patients are treated and discharged, admitted or transferred within 4 hours of attending A&E.
The data shows that there are 133 NHS Trusts across the UK expected to meet A&E wait time targets.
The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust met this target for only 73.6% of patients and is ranked 120 of 133 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since September 2014.
The Medway NHS Foundation Trust met this target for only 83.5% of patients and is ranked 70 of 133 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since May 2015.
The Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust met this target for only 84.2% of patients and is ranked 62 of 133 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since June 2015.
Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust met this target for only 84.8% of patients and is ranked 56 of 133 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since June 2015.
This therefore shows that none of these Kent based NHS Trusts are meeting A&E waiting time targets and have not done so for more than 2 years.
Cancer Care waiting times:
The cancer care target for England is that 85% or more of patients are to be treated within 62 days of an urgent referral from a GP.
The data shows that there are 134 NHS Trusts across the UK expected to meet cancer care wait time targets.
The Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust met this target for only 69.3% of patients and is ranked 127 of 134 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since March 2015.
The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust met this target for only 72% of patients and is ranked 126 of 134 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since December 2014.
The Medway NHS Foundation Trust met this target for only 78.2% of patients and is ranked 104 of 134 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since April 2017.
The Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust met this target for 85.7% of patients and is ranked 58 of 134 NHS Trusts.
This therefore shows that only Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust have met this target since April 2017. East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and Medway NHS Foundation Trust have not hit these targets for almost 3 years.
Non-Emergency Treatment waiting times
The target for non-emergency treatment, in England, is that treatment is started within 18 weeks of the referral from the patient’s GP in 92% or more of cases.
Data shows that there are 125 Trusts that are expected to meet non-emergency treatment waiting times in the UK.
The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust met this target for only 80.9% of patients and is ranked 121 of 125 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since October 2015.
The Medway NHS Foundation Trust met this target for only 81.8% of patients and is ranked 118 of 125 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since November 2014.
The Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust met this target for only 85% of patients and is ranked 104 of 125 NHS Trusts. This Trust has not met this target since July 2016.
The Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust met this target for 94% of patients and is ranked 15 of 125 NHS Trusts.
This therefore shows that only Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust have met this target since July 2016.
Steevi Henderson, Solicitor at Fairweathers Solicitors LLP, commented:-
“It is concerning that the key to obtaining better treatment appears to be one’s postcode. The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust are featuring in the bottom 10% across the UK against all of these targets whereas Dartford & Gravesham NHS Trust have met and surpassed their targets for all except A&E waiting times (but are, notably, still performing better than East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust). We hope that all local and national trusts can improve on their services in order to meet these targets in the coming months / years.”
Steevi is a Medical Negligence Solicitor with years experience dealing with a wide variety of claims.
If you or a loved one believe that you were treated negligently by a local Trust and need the assistance of an experienced and accredited team of Medical Negligence Solicitors then please do not hesitate to phone us free on 0800 999 5585, request a call back or submit your case details.
*All figures taken from the BBC’s NHS Tracker (as at 07.02.2018). The Tracker can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41483322