§ 32. Miss KirkbrideTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on statistical techniques for measuring waiting times in accident and emergency units. [34733]
§ Ms BlearsThe Department requires the national health service to report quarterly on the numbers of patients who are admitted to hospital through accident and emergency and the length of time they waited following the decision to admit.
The waiting time for an emergency hospital admission is measured from the time when the decision is made to admit or when treatment in accident and emergency is completed, whichever is the latest, to the time when the patient is received into:
- (a) a bed in an appropriate ward (a bed in an accident and emergency observation and assessment ward would count, but a trolley, bed or chair in a corridor would not); or
- (b) an operating theatre; or
- (c) another setting for immediate treatment (for example, an X-ray department) before being received into a bed in an appropriate ward.
The NHS Plan set a new target for accident and emergency:
1099WReduce the maximum wait in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours by 2004. With the following interim milestones;75 per cent. of patients attending accident and emergency to wait four hours or less from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge by March 2002.90 per cent. of patients attending accident and emergency to wait four hours or less from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge by March 2003.In line with this, from August 2001, the Department has collected data on total time in accident and emergency from arrival to transfer, admission or discharge. Information suggests that the NHS is on track to meet the March 2002 milestone. Currently 77 per cent. of all accident and emergency attenders spend four hours or less in accident and emergency.
In the majority of NHS trusts, information on waiting times in accident and emergency are extracted from patient records on hospital computer systems. If IT systems are not yet in place, NHS trusts can use sampling methodology to provide the figures. Guidance on sampling is provided in "Patient's Charter monitoring guide".
§ 35. Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to visit the Royal National Hospital in Bath to discuss accident and emergency services. [34736]
§ Ms BlearsMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to visit the Royal United Hospital Bath National Health Service Trust to discuss accident and emergency services.