NHS activity and performance summary: September and October 2018

Summary

• Average daily A&E attendances were a little higher in October and the percentage of patients spending less than four hours in A&E decreased slightly over the month. The number of patients spending more than 12 hours in A&E increased compared to September.
• The average number of daily calls to the ambulance service remained the same (1,242) in October. The percentage of red calls receiving an emergency response within 8 minutes met the target and improved compared to September.
• The percentage of patients waiting less than 26 weeks from referral to the start of treatment decreased but the number waiting more than 36 weeks was less than last month. The number of patients waiting longer than the target time for diagnostic tests fell in September, whereas those waiting longer than the target time for therapy services increased a little.
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) performance improved this month after the last three months of decline. The percentage of patients starting treatment within target time for cancer increased for patients not on the urgent pathway, with performance close to target. Performance decreased for those on the urgent pathway.
• The number of delayed transfers of care increased to the highest since November 2016. The remaining targets for scheduled and unscheduled care were missed.
• Average A&E waiting times and average ambulance response times increased in October. The average number of weeks waited for RTT increased in September but the average waiting time for diagnostic tests or therapy services decreased.