• NHS England publishes performance data for June and July 2017
• The data shows that progress on reducing DTOCs has stalled while A&E performance against the four hour target remains the same as last year despite the focus on it
• We say the lack of progress in reducing delayed transfers of care is particularly worrying and that the system needs more capacity for the coming winter

NHS England has published combined performance figures for June and July 2017.

The figures showed:

• A&E performance against the four hour target is the same as this time last year, despite the focus on A&E over RTT
• The A&E four hour target was last met exactly two years’ ago
• The total number of delayed transfers of care has stalled. There was a drop between March and April but has stayed at a similar level since then
• In June 2017 delays due to patients ‘awaiting care package in own home’ accounted for 21% of all delayed days

Responding to the latest NHS performance figures from NHS England, the head of analysis at NHS Providers, Phillippa Hentsch, said:

“These figures show even at the height of summer, the NHS is working at full stretch.

“Demand is continuing to grow. For example, the number of patients waiting for routine treatment, such as knee and hip operations, has now risen to four million.

“There is clearly an urgent need to put in place additional capacity to cope with the pressures of the coming winter.

There is clearly an urgent need to put in place additional capacity to cope with the pressures of the coming winter.

“The lack of progress in reducing delayed transfers of care (DTOCs) for patients who are ready to move on is particularly worrying, as this leads to longer waits right across the system, including for those who need to be admitted. The increase in DTOCs attributable to social care – especially those waiting for suitable support in their own home – must be addressed.

“We would also have hoped to see some improvement against the four-hour target in A & E compared with last year as this is a clear priority for the NHS.

“The lesson here is that there is simply not enough capacity in the system to assure patient safety in the coming winter. We need an immediate decision on whether trusts will be funded to cover the current capacity gap. We estimate that somewhere between £200 and £350m is required – that must be something we can find within an overall health budget of £124 billion.”