Wait that could kill: NHS wait-time targets missed for years

Long waits for treatment –  for ambulances – and in emergency departments. New data published by NHS England shows just how long.

Fewer people are waiting for routine treatment, but ambulance call outs for the most urgent cases are now more than twice the 18 minute target and only 69 percent of patients at A&E get seen within four hours.

Health actuaries have told this programme longer waits are associated with more than 1,800 additional deaths last month alone.