Urgent and emergency care

A&Es under siege from hiccups and ingrowing toenails

Hundreds of thousands of patients attended A&E last winter for everyday niggles such as hiccups and ingrowing nails, according to shocking new NHS data. There were more than 200,000 A&E attendances last winter for conditions that could have been dealt with elsewhere – including 8,669 attendances for itchy skin and 96,998 for a sore throat. […]

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NHS patients urged to come forward for care as usual during resident doctors’ strikes

The NHS is urging patients to continue coming forward for care with thousands of resident doctors expected to go on strike. Industrial action begins at 7am today (Friday 14 November) until 7am on Wednesday 19 November and hospital teams across the country are working round the clock to ensure disruption is minimised for patients. Plans […]

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Waiting list down as NHS ‘approaches its limit’ ahead of strikes and flu

The NHS waiting list is 230,000 lower than July last year, even as the health service ‘approaches its limit’ with A&E and ambulances facing record demand ahead of winter. The overall waiting list for September was 7.39 million (an estimated 6.24 million patients) down 15,845 compared to the previous month and 230,000 fewer than July […]

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NHS delivers record numbers of treatments as waiting list drops to 26-month low

Hardworking NHS staff delivered record numbers of treatments as the waiting list fell in May for the first time in 17 years*, new figures reveal today. Monthly NHS data shows the overall waiting list dropped by nearly 30,000 in May to 7.36 million – the lowest total since March 2023 – with 60.9% waiting 18 […]

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