More evidence that the Government four-hour waiting time limit target for dealing with accident and emergency patients is manipulated as well as - or perhaps instead of - motivating hospitals to look after urgent cases within that generous time-frame:

Researchers from Sheffield University found, however, that one patient in eight is moved out of emergency departments in the 20 minutes before the four-hour deadline expires. While most emergency departments achieve their targets, it is increasingly claimed that patients are being admitted to wards inappropriately as a result.

Elderly people and mentally ill people were particularly vulnerable to the long wait and last-minute admission, one recent report said. The Sheffield researchers detected a flurry of activity in the last 20 minutes before the deadline is reached with "most impact on older patients and those being admitted to hospital".

Dr Suzanne Mason, a clinical senior lecturer in emergency admission, measured the treatment of more than 400,000 patients. "We found that with patients who were admitted and discharged there is a sudden leap in the number dealt with between 220 and 240 minutes.

Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in NHS

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