Department of Health : improving emergency care in England, sixteenth report of session 2004-05, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

Following on from an NAO report (HCP 1075, session 2003-04; ISBN 010293021X) published in October 2004, the Committee's report examines the level of demand for emergency care within the NHS, the progress made towards achieving waiting time targets for emergency care services and service integration.

Findings reached include that the proportion of patients being discharged or admitted from A&E services in under four hours has risen from 77 per cent in September 2002 to 94.6 per cent in September 2004, although treatment times are still too long for many patients, particularly older or vulnerable patients.

As demand for emergency care continues to rise, emergency care networks should be given responsibility for reviewing local patterns of demand compared to supply and commission services accordingly.

The expanded levels of access to services through the establishment of new providers is to be welcomed, although more research needs to be done on assess the relative unit costs of these services.