Health secretary calls on NHS to hit A&E target by March 2018

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has told NHS hospitals that A&E waiting time targets must be achieved by March next year.

According to the latest official figures, the proportion of A&E patients being seen in four hours fell to a record low of 86.2 per cent in December 2016, before falling again to 85.1 per cent in January 2017.

This is considerably short of the 95 per cent target, which has not been met since July 2015.

The health secretary has therefore insisted the situation must improve, as meeting this target is "critical for patient safety".

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond stated in this week's Budget that the Conservatives are "the party of the NHS” as he made a number of funding pledges.

However, Dr Mark Porter of the British Medical Association warned that the new measures will not "address the gaping hole in NHS finances".

"There is a £30 billion gap to fill and we should be increasing the UK’s health spending by at least £10.3 billion to match that of other leading European economies,” he said.

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