NHS activity and performance summary: December 2018 and January 2019

Summary

Average daily A&E attendances increased in January. The percentage of patients spending less than four hours in A&E decreased and the number of patients spending more than 12 hours in A&E increased. The performance for both measures is the weakest since March 2018.

The average number of daily calls to the ambulance service decreased in January. The percentage of red calls receiving an emergency response within 8 minutes met the target but was lower than in December.

The number of patients waiting longer than the target time for diagnostic tests increased in December but decreased for therapy services. The percentage of patients waiting less than 26 weeks from referral to the start of treatment decreased compared to November, but the number of patients waiting longer than 36 weeks decreased. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) performance declined.

The percentage of patients starting treatment within target time for cancer increased for patients on the urgent suspected cancer pathway but decreased a little for those not on the urgent suspected pathway.

The number of delayed transfers of care decreased and the remaining targets for scheduled and unscheduled care were missed.

Average A&E waiting times increased in January and average emergency call responses for ambulances were slower. The latest average waiting times for referral to treatment, diagnostic tests and therapy services increased in December.