NHS watchdog drafts plan to tackle A&E crisis

"Unprecedented" pressure on the health services has led to an increase in waiting times at accident and emergency departments across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, NHS chiefs have said.

Hospitals are supposed to see 95 per cent of patients within four hours, but the latest figures show in December Northern Ireland hospitals were well below that - with just 76 percent being seen on time.

And departments in England are also falling short at less than 90 per cent, according to the weekly figures - despite some improvement from the previous week.

ITV News Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports:

Health chiefs have urged people to take care in the impending cold snap as the NHS struggles to cope with "unprecented" pressure on services.

It comes as the latest figures for accident and emergency departments in England show a slight improvement in the number of patients seen within four hours - 89.8 per cent compared to 86.7 per cent the previous week - though still falling short of the 95 per cent target.

Dame Barbara Hakin, a director at NHS England, urged people to try their pharmacist or GP for minor ailments rather than heading to A&E.

Accident and emergency departments across England saw 89.8 per cent of patients within the four-hour target window last week, new figures reveal.

The results, for the week ending January 11, mean the vast majority of departments again failed to meet the 95 per cent target - though it is an improvement on the previous week, when only 86.7 per cent of patients were seen within the target time.

Bosses say the figures are a sign of ongoing "unprecedented" pressures on the NHS this winter.

The Government has welcomed draft guidelines to tackle the A&E crisis, calling them "a major step forward."

"The expert committee that produced this guidance has said these nursing ratios are typical of current practice in A&E, showing our plans for safe staffing are working, and correcting some of the problems we saw at Mid Staffs," a Department of Health spokesman said.

"This Nice guidance will give the NHS evidence to make sure it has the right number of staff, improving patient care."

Ensuring enough nursing staff are available at A&E departments helps to make sure patients "get safe care," the director of clinical practice at Nice said.

Professor Mark Baker said of the NHS watchdog's draft guidelines published today:

There should be enough nursing staff on duty in Accident and Emergency departments to have two registered nurses to one patient in cases of major trauma or cardiac arrest, according to guidance published today.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice)'s draft guidelines also stressed there should be a registered children's nurse on each shift, or at least one A&E nurse with education and training in children's nursing.

Nice was asked to develop recommendations after concerns were raised about safe staffing levels following incidents such as the scandal in Mid Staffordshire.

Its guidance states that hospital boards, senior management and commissioners should ensure all A&E departments are able to deliver the nursing care patients need from the time of attending the department, through assessment and delivery of care to discharge.