New A&E targets are being trialled at QA Hospital – here’s how they will affect patients

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs QA Hospital, is one of 14 trusts trialling new A&E targets, which could lead to changes in how performance is measured.

Under the new plans for emergency care, patients with the most serious conditions will receive rapid treatment within an hour, while people with minor conditions can expect to wait longer.

Currently, all A&E patients should be seen within four hours – but this target has not been hit since July 2015.

It is hoped that these new targets will be implemented across England by next spring.

But the proposals have faced criticism from some, who say the targets are being abandoned because they can no longer be met.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has previously warned that scrapping the four-hour A&E target would have ‘a near-catastrophic impact on patient safety’.

A series of pilots were announced by NHS England last month, including possible changes to targets for A&E, cancer and planned operations.

NHS England said: ‘The information we gather through field testing and engagement will inform final recommendations from this review, and ahead of full implementation beginning spring 2020.’

The other hospitals taking part in the trial are Cambridge University Hospitals, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Frimley Health, Imperial College Healthcare, Kettering General Hospital, Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals, North Tees and Hartlepool, Nottingham University Hospitals, Plymouth Hospitals, Poole Hospital, Rotherham and West Suffolk.