A&E Waiting Target Can't Be Met, Officials Admit

The NHS cannot meet its A&E waiting time target for 2014/15, the Department of Health has said.

The aim is to have 95% of patients waiting four hours or less at accident and emergency departments in England.

This was missed for the 23rd week in a row last week.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said this meant it was not possible for the health service to meet the standard for the fourth quarter of the year - or 2014/15 overall.

It is the first time the target has not been met across a year.

Figures show there was unprecedented demand on A&E departments over winter.

Two weeks in December had the highest attendance figures ever recorded for a winter period.

The service dealt with more than seven million people over the four-month period from November to February - up 190,000 on the same period last winter.

There was an average of 5,400 more attendances at A&E each day in 2014 compared with 2009.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: "We know the NHS is busier than ever before and despite missing the A&E standard for the year, over nine out of 10 patients are being seen, treated and discharged within four hours.

"We've given a record £700m this winter for almost 800 more doctors, 4,700 more nurses and 6,400 more beds and are backing the NHS' long-term plan which focuses on joining up care and doing more to prevent illness, and have provided an extra £2bn in funding next year to build a service fit for the future."

NHS England said there were 6,900 waits of more than four hours last week, down from 9,000 the previous week.

Despite missing the four-hour target, last week's figures represented a four-week high.