The latest data from NHS London shows that – despite the pressures of winter and industrial action through 2023 and into January – the percentage of accident and emergency attendees being seen within the national four-hour target has remained stable.

72.7% of A&E attendees were seen within four hours in January, up 0.4% on January last year. This was against a backdrop of a near 9% increase in A&E attendance compared to January 2023, and an unprecedented six-day strike by Junior Doctors earlier in January which saw staffing pressures across NHS London.

January’s industrial action led resulted in 36,855 appointments being postponed. This followed 25,366 appointments needing to be rescheduled as a result of industrial action in December.

This has had an impact on waiting times across NHS London. In December, 58.9% of patients were seen within eighteen weeks across London, down from a peak of 64.3% in May 2023. Those waiting more than 65 weeks stood at 11,480 in December, up from 7,233 in May 2023.

The data confirms that NHS teams in London have successful created extra bed capacity to help manage winter pressures, with 14,899 open general and acute beds open on average across London during January. This is 293 higher than January 2023.

To manage pressures, NHS hospital teams have found new and innovative ways to roll out extra beds. Before Christmas, Queen’s Hospital in Romford opened a new surgical assessment unit with 10 beds, while Whipps Cross and Royal London Hospitals have carried out a refurbishment programme meaning patients across Barts Health NHS Trust are benefiting from 32 additional beds.

January also saw greater demand than usual, with 394,151 A&E attendances across London over the course of the month, 8.6% higher than the same month in 2023. The average daily number occupied beds across NHS London was also greater this January at 13,830 in January, up 131 on last year.

Commenting on the latest data from NHS London, Chris Streather, Medical Director at NHS London said:

“There is no doubt that it has been a difficult winter for the NHS in London. Anticipating this we began our winter vaccine programme earlier last year, to ensure as many people across London as possible were winter ready and protected against the twin threats of covid and flu.

“Despite the significant impact of industrial action on services and the need to reschedule more than 60,000 appointments during Junior Doctor’s strikes, NHS teams have worked extremely hard to care for patients as quickly as they can, including opening extra bed capacity.”

“As ever, I would encourage the public to use services effectively, by using NHS 111 to get advice on the best service for their condition, and by calling 999 in life-threatening emergencies.”