• NHS England has published the latest set of combined monthly performance data, covering A&E performance for May 19 and RTT and cancer statistics for April 19.
• There were 547,389 emergency admissions in May 2019, 2.6% more than in May 2018, and up 5.6% from the previous 12 months.
• The percentage of those admitted, transferred or discharged within 4 hours was 1.7m – 86.6% of the total.
• The number of patients seen in over 4 hours was 261,438 compared to 186,119 in May 2018, an increase of 40.5%.
• The number of people seen by a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral for suspected cancer has fallen to 89.9%.

The director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin said:

“Those expecting the pressure on health and care services to ease off as we head into the summer months will be disappointed.

“Trusts and NHS staff worked incredibly hard over the winter months to meet record demand for care. They are still working flat-out. There is no let-up and this continues to put pressure on our over-stretched workforce. 

It is particularly worrying that more people than ever are waiting longer than two weeks to see a consultant after receiving an urgent referral for suspected cancer from a GP.

Miriam Deakin    

“Today’s figures show performance slipping against all of the main treatment access targets. It is particularly worrying that more people than ever are waiting longer than two weeks to see a consultant after receiving an urgent referral for suspected cancer from a GP. And that we now have more people on the waiting list than ever before. This has a real impact on patients, service users and their health, and on other parts of the health and care system. 

“Despite best efforts at the frontline, steady increases in demand mean the NHS is falling short of meeting the constitutional standards patients and the public rightly expect, month on month.

Despite best efforts at the frontline, steady increases in demand mean the NHS is falling short of meeting the constitutional standards patients and the public rightly expect, month on month.

Miriam Deakin    

“We welcome the clinical review of standards and agree it is right to review targets to ensure they remain clinically relevant. However, in a context in which the service is clearly struggling to deliver existing standards, it is vital that the process and testing of new targets must be transparent, rigorous and inclusive.  We have built a valuable source of time-series performance data against the current four-hour standard and it is also important that we preserve this and can continue to compare like for like.

“Most importantly, we must make the appropriate investment in our health and care system to meet growing demand, and respect the public’s expectations of their health service.”