A&E wait times through the roof with 1,234 patients at York NHS trust waiting over 12 hours

In York And Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 1,916 people waited over 4 hours to be seen in December. Even more alarmingly, 1,234 waited over 12 hours to be seen in December during the winter crisis. 

Meanwhile, the average ambulance response time for the most urgent incidents in Yorkshire Ambulance Service was 11:19 in December – well in excess of the NHS target of 7 minutes. 

Response times for urgent conditions such as heart attacks and strokes are even longer. Ambulance response times in Yorkshire for these Category 2 emergencies are now 1:18:01- alarmingly well above the 18-minute target.

Local councillors have hit out at this concerning data and the Government’s inaction in the face of the NHS crisis. They are demanding the Government release the money they promised to help discharge patients from hospitals, as soon as possible and begin to take the crisis seriously.

Councillor Carol Runciman, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Health and Adult Social care, commented:

“The Government’s failure to tackle the crisis in our NHS is putting people’s lives at risk. Far too many people in both York and Scarborough are having to wait far too long to get the treatment they need. In many cases, this is literally a matter of life or death.

“How much more evidence do Ministers need? They can’t seem to be able to grasp the scale of this problem. Rather than more talk, they must without further delay release the money promised to help discharge patients from hospitals, and launch a campaign to recruit the extra paramedics and ambulance staff we need.”