Shropshire Star

Health chief's doubts on A&E targets

One of the county's leading health officials has raised doubts over whether the four-hour A&E target achieves what it was set up for.

Published
David Evans

David Evans, the joint accountable officer for Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), has said that the target – that all patients attending A&E are assessed or discharged within four hours – is 'possibly too broad'.

His comments come after the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, hinted that the government was considering scrapping the targets.

The NHS performance against the measure for December was at its worst level since records began.

In Shropshire, both Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital Telford, managed by Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust, have not hit the 95 per cent target since 2014.

In December the figure dropped to 60.5 per cent, and was one of the worst in the country.

Asked if the target was achieving what it was set up for, Mr Evans said it may not be the best way to ensure quality care for seriously ill patients.

Unfortunate

He said: "Having targets are generally a good thing as they are markers that can be used to improve quality and performance. However, they do need to be the right targets and focused to get the right improvement.

"In my opinion, a broad target such as the four-hour A&E target is possibly too broad. Whilst it has the right intention it may not be specific enough in what it is aiming to achieve – in this case, quality of care for patients who are seriously ill."

But, Dr Laura Davies, who has previously stood as the Labour Party candidate for Shrewsbury & Atcham, said she believed the target should remain in place.

She said: "Scrapping the target is not a good idea. It is a way of getting rid of a bad news story, which is not good for anyone.

"I think that would be unfortunate."

Dr Davies has worked at A&E in RSH as part of her training and said that while reporting on the targets may affect staff morale, she believes other factors have more impact.

She said: "When you see headlines saying 'you now work in the worst hospital in Britain' it does not do good for staff morale but on the other hand it is good for staff to have something to work towards.

"What is demoralising for staff is not having enough staff, or resources, or space, or acute beds."