Winter has brought heightened pressure on Birmingham hospitals, leading to longer wait times in emergency departments (ED). Recent data presented to the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust board highlights a decline in the target of seeing patients within 15 minutes at A&E in January, compared to the previous month.
The report also reveals an increase in the average time patients spend in EDs, reflecting the strain on hospital services. With national NHS leaders closely monitoring performance, the Trust remains committed to meeting critical targets, including the four-hour and 12-hour ED standards, and reducing ambulance handover delays.
Scheduled for discussion on March 26, the UHB NHS Trust board report states: “The Trust is currently classified at tier 1, the highest level of oversight, under the NHS England urgent and emergency care (UEC) tiering programme.”
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Looking ahead, the Trust aims to boost four-hour target performance to 71% by March 2026, decrease average ambulance handover times to 42 minutes, and reduce the number of patients spending over 12 hours in EDs compared to 2024-25 figures.
The winter months saw substantial pressure across all hospital sites, with significant inpatient and ED numbers resulting in extended waits in emergency departments, assessment areas, and for ambulance services. These challenges have negatively impacted all key UEC performance metrics.
In January, four-hour performance declined to 59%, a 1.7% drop from December, falling short of the 63.2% target. At Heartlands and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, compliance decreased by 2.9% and 4.6% respectively, while Good Hope and Solihull hospitals saw modest improvements of 2.7% and 0.8%.
Attendance numbers rose by 5.7% in January 2026 compared to the same month the previous year. Overall, the average time spent in A&E increased to 407 minutes in January, up from 343 minutes in December and 34 minutes longer than January 2025.
For admitted patients, treatment times averaged 802 minutes, a significant rise from 633 minutes in December. Non-admitted patients also experienced longer waits, with an average of 252 minutes compared to 224 minutes the month before.