79% of arrivals were seen within the target timeframe reports Clara Margotin, Data Reporter

A hospital entrance sign with the focus on the Accident and Emergency department — AAround 75.9% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 76.4% in July – (Credit – Radar)

About three-quarters of patients who arrived at accident and emergency at the main NHS trust serving Barnet last month were seen within four hours, new figures show.

It follows the publication of the first NHS trust performance league tables results earlier this week, which a healthcare think tank warned could just be “another tool for top-down control”.

The NHS standard is for 95% of patients to be seen within four hours. However, as part of a recovery plan, the health service has extended its objective for 78% of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred within this time frame by March 2026.

Recent NHS England figures show there were 39,006 visits to A&E at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in August. Of them, 30,778 were seen within four hours – accounting for 79% of arrivals.

This means the trust surpassed the recovery target but missed the original standard.

Around 75.9% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 76.4% in July.

But figures also show 35,909 emergency admissions waited more than 12 hours in A&E departments from a decision to admit to actually being admitted – up slightly from 35,467 in July.

The number waiting at least four hours from a decision to admit to admission also rose slightly, standing at 115,826 in August, up from 115,542 the month before.

At Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, 2,945 patients waited longer than four hours, including 1,704 who were delayed by more than 12 hours.

About 2.3 million people attended A&E departments across England last month.

NHS England said it was the busiest August ever in A&E, but confirmed the average response time for category two incidents such as heart attacks and strokes was the fastest since May 2021, at 27 minutes and three seconds.

The overall number of attendances to A&E at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in August was a drop of 10% on the 43,570 visits recorded during July, but 4% more than the 37,658 patients seen by the trust’s two predecessors in August 2024.

Tim Gardner, assistant director of policy at the Health Foundation, said the national figures show “a mixed picture”.

He said: “Ambulance response times improved from July, but A&E waiting times got slightly worse and the NHS overall remains a long way off from meeting national targets.

“This week’s release of hospital league tables aim to improve standards by spotlighting the best and worst performing trusts.

“However, the latest data is a reminder of the broader challenges facing the NHS, which mean few hospitals are meeting waiting time targets – even among the highest ranked trusts.”

He called for a “system-wide approach to recovery”, prioritising “investment, workforce resilience and long-term planning”, instead of “using the new rankings as another tool for top-down control and performance management”.

Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS national medical director, said the figures show the health service “is always there for patients — no matter what is thrown its way”.

She added: “We continue to encourage anyone with worrying symptoms and concerns to come forward for care and as always, to only use 999 and A&E in life-threatening emergencies with 111 available for other conditions.”

NHS trusts in England will now be ranked every three months, after being scored on seven different areas including time spent in A&E and ambulance response times.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the new league tables could lead to “friendly rivalry” between hospitals which will drive up standards.

The first league tables results published by the Department of Health and Social Care on Monday showed eight in ten of England’s hospital trusts are ‘missing targets’, exposing the ‘postcode lottery’ of care across the country.

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