Our response to the launch of NHS England's consultation on A&E performance measures

Today NHS England has published their report "Transformation of Urgent and Emergency Care: Models of care and measurement".

The report sets out the final recommendations on the urgent and emergency care standards from the Clinically-led Review of NHS Standards.

As part of this, NHS England are asking people to respond to these findings in a consultation. 

The updated standards aim to capture what matters clinically and to patients, end hidden waits and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. 

The proposed measures take into account of changes in the way urgent and emergency care is delivered such as the roll-out of Same day Emergency Care and changes to NHS 111.

The measures, developed with clinical leaders, aim to improve patient flow and prevent crowding to ensure A&Es function more efficiently and effectively than the current set of standards which date back 15 years. 

To help inform the review and help understand the impact of potential new targets on patients and the public, we spoke to people to find out what matters to them when using Accident and Emergency departments.

Responding to the launch of the consultation, Imelda Redmond, National Director of Healthwatch England, said:

“Conversations with patients and the public repeatedly show that it’s not the total time people wait, but the quality of the care they receive that shapes their experience of A&E. The proposed new measures break down the patient journey in much more detail and can help to highlight pinch points where people’s needs and expectations can be better met.

“However, the key to improving people’s experiences will be in how these metrics are used to help the NHS do things differently, not just count differently. This will see greater emphasis on speedy initial assessments, fast care for the most sick and better communication with all patients to keep them fully informed.

“We therefore welcome this consultation which we hope will stimulate a constructive conversation between doctors and nurses, policy makers and the public.”