To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients admitted to accident and emergency departments waited more than 12 hours before being treated in each of the last two quarters for which figures are available; and what the average waiting time for patients waiting more than 12 hours is. [116735]
Information is not collected on how long patients wait in Accident and Emergency before being treated or the average waiting time for patients in A&E.Information is collected and published on total time spent in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge and on waiting times in A&E following a decision to admit patients to a hospital ward. The available information for the last two quarters is shown in the table.
| Percentage of patients who spent less than four hours in A&E from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge | Number of patients not placed in a bed in a ward within four hours of a decision to admit | |
| July to September 2002 | 77 | 56,581 |
| October to December 2003 | 78 | 67,231 |
Source:
Department of Health form QMAE