"4. Are waiting times increasing because more people are going to A&E?
The number of people going to A&E has risen substantially over time. In 2016/17 there were 23.4 million attendances at A&E departments – the equivalent of 63,000 attendances each day on average. Between 2011/12 and 2016/17, A&E attendances grew on average by 1.7 per cent each year, and increased by 1.9 million in total (or 8.8 per cent). This is the equivalent of an extra 5,100 more A&E attendances each day. The growth in attendances has been higher in type 3 A&Es (such as walk-in centres and minor-injury units), compared to type 1 (major) or type 2 (specialist) A&Es.
However, the rising number of attendances at A&E is not the main factor affecting performance. The increased pressure on A&E departments is more closely associated with rising numbers of emergency admissions to hospital and reduced capacity to meet this rising demand.
It is the emergency admissions from A&E rather than attendances themselves that place greater demands on health services, because patients admitted as emergencies usually need more complex care from a wider range of professionals, and an available bed in an appropriate ward must be found for these patients before they can be admitted.
Figure 4 shows that, compared to 2011/12, attendances at type 1 (major) and all A&E departments have increased at a faster rate than growth in the general population. However, emergency admissions via type 1 A&E departments, which account for over 70 per cent of all emergency admissions to hospital, have increased at an even greater rate than attendances. "
From King's Fund.
Where did you get your 7x increase over last year, jalima?
