LESS than two-thirds of patients who arrived at Barnsley Hospital’s accident and emergency department were seen within four hours last month - and fears that upcoming strike action will extend waiting times have been expressed.
The NHS standard is for 95 per cent of patients to be seen within four hours.
However, as part of a recovery plan, the health service aims for 78 per cent of patients to be seen within this timeframe by next March.
Recent NHS England figures show there were 9,243 visits to A and E at Barnsley Hospital in June.
Of them, 5,824 were seen within four hours - accounting for 63 per cent of arrivals.
This means the trust fell well below the recovery target and the original standard.
Healthcare leaders fear the target will be further widened when resident doctors - formerly junior doctors - walk out on strike for five consecutive days from 7am on July 25 in a long-running row over pay.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said the A and E figures showed the government is working towards putting things right.
However, he warned strike action could jeopardise this success, and called on the British Medical Association (BMA) to call off the planned action.
“This recovery is only just beginning, and it is fragile,” he added.
“It is only with NHS staff and the government working together that we can rebuild our NHS so it is there for patients once again.”
A BMA spokesperson said 90 per cent of its members voted in favour of a walk-out, which occurred on multiple occasions last year.
“The government knows how to avert strike action and that’s by setting out a credible path to pay restoration,” they said.
“Doctors have spoken and spoken clearly: they won’t accept that they are worth a fifth less than they were in 2008.
“Our pay may have declined but our will to fight remains strong.
“We now find ourselves at a crucial crossroads - last year when in opposition Mr Streeting said that the solution to strikes was to talk to resident doctors.
“It was as true then as it is now - he made a point of acting quickly to grasp the issue and negotiate a solution.
“Only a few weeks ago he again said he wanted to get back round the table with us.
‘Now we will see if he can once again make the right decision.
“He needs to come forward as soon as possible with a credible path to pay restoration.
“All we need is a credible pay offer and nobody need strike.
‘Doctors don’t take industrial action lightly - but they know it is preferable to watching their profession wither away.
“The next move is the government’s: will it repeat the mistakes of its predecessor, or will it do the right thing and negotiate a path to full pay restoration and the restoration of doctors’ confidence in our profession’s future?”
