UK A&E Departments Miss Four Hour Waiting Time Standard

Accident and emergency departments in England missed the government's quarterly target of doctors seeing to 95% of patients within four hours.

The Department of Health said that A&E departments in England only say 92.9% of patients within the four hour standard time last week, which is the lowest level since April 2013.

"The NHS is performing well despite unprecedented demand and hospitals continue to treat the vast majority of people quickly, with around 2,000 more people every day seen within the four-hour target in A&E last year compared to 2010," said a Department of Health spokesman.

"Last week we announced extra support to keep services sustainable year-round and in the long-term, we want to reduce demand by looking after people in the community."

Despite the slowdown in patients being seen by A&E, government officials revealed that it is aiming to implement a raft of new measures to help support staff.

Demand for emergency services have rocketed by an extra one million visits to A&E over the last year, compared with that of 2010.