A&E Clinical Quality Indicators
From April 2011, the Department of Health introduced a range of new indicators to cover all A&E departments in England.
These indicators have been designed to present a comprehensive and balanced view of the care delivered by A&E departments and accurately reflect the experience and safety of patients and the effectiveness of the care they receive.
There are 5 indicators of A&E clinical quality currently being monitored:
- Patients who left A&E without being treated—having a higher rate of patients who chose to leave A&E without being treated can be an indication that patients are dissatisfied with the length of time they have to wait
- Unplanned reattendances to A&E within 7 days of an original visit—minimising the number of unplanned attendances shows that patients receive the right care first time
- Total time that patients spent in A&E—from the time that patients arrive until they are either discharged or admitted to the hospital
- Time to initial assessment—this only applies to patients who arrive by ambulance, it measures the length of time from a patient’s arrival to completion of an initial clinical assessment
- Time to treatment—this shows how long a patient waits from when they arrive until they have a definitive plan
Current performance against the 5 indicators
| Indicator | Performance Jan 2012 | Pass or fail |
|---|---|---|
| Left without being seen | 3.93% of patients | Pass |
| 7-day reattendance rate | 7.59% of patients | Fail |
| Total time in A&E | Median wait—2 hrs 18 mins | Pass |
| Time to initial assessment | Median wait—1 min | Pass |
| Time to treatment | Median wait—58 mins | Pass |
Overall performance against the 5 indicators 2011/12
| Indicator | Pass or fail |
|---|---|
| Left without being seen | Pass |
| 7-day reattendance rate | Fail |
| Total time in A&E | Pass |
| Time to initial assessment | Pass |
| Time to treatment | Pass |
Further information
A full report including details of our performance against all indicators is available on this page.
