A&E waiting times: Thousands of people waiting more than 12 hours to be admitted to A&E in Yorkshire, figures reveal

More than 4,000 people were left waiting over 12 hours between the decision to admit them to A&E and actually being admitted in Yorkshire, analysis of NHS data by NationalWorld shows.

The number of patients left waiting 12 hours or longer across England was staggeringly high in December, with over 54,500 affected – a 44 per cent rise on November, and a 324 per cent rise on last December. Before September 2021, the figure had never exceeded 5,000.

Around a third of people going into A&E in York And Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had to wait for more than 12 hours, the figures show. Of the 3,824 who attended A&E in the York and Scarborough area, a total of 1,234 were waiting for more than 12 hours to be admitted.

In Leeds, a total of 3,760 were admitted to A&E and 1,134 had to wait more than 12 hours to be admitted.

The British Medical Association’s emergency medicine lead, Dr Den Langhor, said: “The situation across the country at many A&Es at the moment is intolerable, unsafe, and unsustainable. The sharp rise in the number of patients waiting over 12 hours – 44 percent from November to December – highlights the enormous pressure emergency departments are under.

“These are often patients who are in the most need of urgent care so delays like this can place them at serious risk. Not to mention the tremendous pressure on the hard-working staff desperately trying to keep up with incredibly high levels of demand."

A government spokesperson said: “This government is fully committed to supporting our incredible NHS making up to £14.1 billion available for health and social care over the next two years on top of record funding. More doctors and nurses are working in the NHS in England delivering extra appointments and speeding up diagnoses with the NHS already virtually eliminating two year waits.

“We recognise the pressures the NHS is facing so announced up to £250 million of additional funding to immediately help reduce hospital bed occupancy, alleviate pressures on A&E and unlock much-needed ambulance handovers. This is on top of the £500 million Discharge Fund to speed up the safe discharge of patients and rolling out virtual wards to free up hospital beds and cut waiting times.”

The full figures are below:

NHS England North East And Yorkshire - Total Emergency Admissions via A&E 68,335 Number of patients waiting over 12 hours 7,368 % waiting more than 12 hours 10.8%

York And Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3,824 1,234 32.3%

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 3,760 1,134 30.2%

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 3,101 631 20.3%

Doncaster And Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3,671 501 13.6%

Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust 1,239 153 12.3%

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust 1,609 70 4.4%

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,875 105 3.7%

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2,590 63 2.4%

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3,181 75 2.4%

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust 2,787 41 1.5%

Calderdale And Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust 3,391 12 0.4%

Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust 1,057 0 0.0%