A ‘PERFECT storm’ of flu and norovirus brought in by the Beast from the East is to blame for the worst A&E delays on record, experts said today.
NHS England data shows just 85 per cent of patients were treated within four hours of arriving at casualty last week.
And the performance at larger hospitals – known as type 1 A&Es – slumped to just 76.9 per cent.
Casualty wards are expected to treat 95 per cent of patients within this time.
Health bosses blamed high levels of flu, the winter vomiting bug and the cold snap for the worst ever waiting times on record – after warnings last week the health service was struggling to cope.
An NHS England spokesperson said: “NHS staff continued to work hard in February in the face of a ‘perfect storm’ of appalling weather, persistently high flu hospitalisations and a renewed spike in norovirus.”
Data also shows nearly 23,000 non-urgent operations were cancelled in January to free up beds.
Britain’s leading casualty doctor said hospitals need more cash and beds to prevent a year-round crisis.
Dr Taj Hassan, President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: “Performance that once would have been regarded as utterly unacceptable has now become normal and things are seemingly only getting worse for patients.”
Despite the challenging conditions, the NHS treated 160,000 more A&E patients within four hours this winter compared to last, an NHS England spokesman said.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine said it was calling on patients to write to their local MP asking for action to address the serious challenges facing A&E departments.
It said the “unprecedented move” was in response to the figures, which also showed the worst ever performance of 76.9% at major emergency departments.
Dr Hassan, added: “Let’s be very clear – the current crisis in our emergency departments and in the wider NHS is not the fault of patients.
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“It is not because staff aren’t working hard enough, not because of the actions of individual trusts, not because of the weather or norovirus, not purely because of influenza, immigration or inefficiencies and not because performance targets are unfeasible.
“The current crisis was wholly predictable and is due to a failure to prioritise the need to increase healthcare funding on an urgent basis.
“We need an adequate number of hospital beds, more resources for social care and to fund our staffing strategies that we have previously agreed in order to deliver decent basic dignified care.”