London: Patients are waiting more than 12 hours in A&Es due to a lack of hospital beds, NHS figures show.
Last week, nearly 4,500 were in casualty for at least four hours in need of a bed, including 13 people who were there for more than 12 hours.
Figures also show that the NHS has missed its target for ensuring patients are dealt with within four hours for the fourth week in a row.
Casualty departments are normally less busy during the summer and early autumn but the latest figures suggest they are under surprising pressure.
Many hospitals are having to cancel non-urgent operations to free-up staff and ward space for patients coming in from the A&E.
The NHS is meant to ensure that 95 per cent of patients are dealt with in A&E within four hours and either sent home or admitted on to a ward. But the latest weekly figures show that only 94.7 per cent were treated within this timeframe and the target has not been met since the end of August.
A total of 4,467 patients were in A&E for more than four hours after doctors had decided they needed to be admitted to a ward. This does not include the numbers of patients waiting in A&E who were then sent home — the NHS does not publish this information.
Labour’s health spokesman Andy Burnham said: “A&E is getting worse by the week.
“Under this Government, we have seen the emergence of the summer crisis in A&E. David Cameron must get a grip on this.”
An NHS England spokesman said: “Over the last three years, frontline staff have made an incredible effort to ensure standards of care remain high. But it is clear the NHS is under pressure.”
GP waiting times are a “national disgrace”, according to Dr Maureen Baker, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners. She warned that many patients were giving up even trying to get an appointment, meaning serious illnesses could be missed at an early stage.
