Measuring your performance
The new four-hour operational standard was introduced into the NHS in England in 2002. It stated that, "it is expected that 98 per cent of patients presenting to emergency departments will be seen, treated, admitted or discharged within four hours of arrival."
In 2005 the target was introduced in Scotland and by September 2007, 97 per cent of patients’ attendances were meeting the four-hour operational standard.
In Wales, the NHS Service and Financial Framework for 2007-08 includes a target that states that 95 per cent of new patients (including paediatrics) should spend less than four hours in a major emergency department until admission, transfer or discharge, and that no patient will wait longer than eight hours.
In Northern Ireland the 12-hour standard changed to four hours in March 2008. The Department of Health (England) has been recording the four-hour operational standard performance since its inception.
Many emergency care staff have little knowledge of their hospital's own performance data and how they benchmark against comparable departments in England. This data is freely and publicly available on the Department of Health website and the ECA committee are keen that all staff are aware of this data and how to access it.
The 2007/08 quarterly data is available below in downloadable Excel spreadsheets
- A&E performance data quarter 1 2007-8
- A&E performance data quarter 2 2007-8
- A&E performance data quarter 3 2007-8
- A&E performance data quarter 4 2007-8
Full data since 2002 can be found at: www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/data_requests/total_time_ae.htm