Hospitals serving Redbridge fail to meet A&E waiting time targets in December

The trust governing King George and Queen’s Hospital failed to hit the government’s A&E waiting time targets in December, according to data released yesterday.

The figures from NHS England show only 84 per cent of patients at Barking, Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), which manages King George in Goodmayes and Queen’s in Romford, were seen, admitted or discharged within four hours in December.

The figure stands 11pc below the guideline.

Matthew Hopkins, BHRUT chief executive, commented: “The national figures being quoted today reinforce what NHS staff up and down the country would readily confirm – we are seeing an increasing demand for our services.

“Our number one priority remains the safety of our patients, and making sure they get the care they need. At our hospitals, we’ve seen more patients come to our emergency departments (EDs) this winter, over 70,000 in total since the beginning of November. The good news is we are admitting fewer patients as we increasingly work with our partners to help patients get the care they need outside of hospital.”

The news comes as a leaked report showed that not one hospital trust in London hit the 95pc target of patients being seen within four hours last month.

The data revealed by the BBC claimed just 86 per cent of A&E patients were seen within four hours – the worst record since the target was introduced 13 years ago

A spokesman for the Department for Health rubbished the leaked report.

He said: “We do not recognise these figures — it is irresponsible to publish unverified data and does a disservice to all NHS staff working tirelessly to provide care around the clock.”

Official A&E waiting times for January will be published next month.