Welsh Government’s four hour accident and emergency waiting time target was missed in October and dropped on the previous month.
89.1 per cent of people in ‘all emergency care facilities’ were seen within four hours. The target is 95 per cent. 90 per cent of people were seen within four hours in September.
97.4 per cent of patients in ‘all emergency care facilities’ spent less than eight hours in A&E. With an official target of 100 per cent, no-one is expected to wait longer than this time limit. During October, over 2000 people did.
The four hour target has not been met once since Carwyn Jones became First Minister in December 2009, despite his refusal to accept the figures during Plenary on Tuesday November 22nd. When questioned on his government’s failure to meet the target by the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly, Mr Jones said “I do not recognise those figures.’
Shadow Minister for Health, Darren Millar AM, said:
“If the First Minister doesn’t recognise this, he might as well give up now and throw in the towel.
“The four hour target is an absolute farce. It hasn’t been met once since Carwyn Jones took the reins and there’s no sign of it being met any time in the near future.
“Winter is here and more people will inevitably need A and E. If the target can’t be met during the warmer months, there is little hope of it being met at this time of year.
“Excessive waits in A and E can be uncomfortable, distressing and unpleasant – especially for the elderly, young children and the chronically ill.
“It’s about time the First Minister took some responsibility – admitted the on-going failure – and put a proper plan in place to deal with it.”
