Sheffield Hospitals chief executive says NHS waiting time targets “incredibly challenging” 

Kirsten Major, Chief Executive of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reported that 75 per cent of emergency patients were seen within the four hour target in April.

Although this does not reach the national target of 76 per cent, it is better than the national average which was 74 per cent in the same month.

When asked in a Council of Governors meeting whether national targets were “realistic”, Major said they were “not unreasonable but incredibly challenging”.

Her report also mentioned waiting times for planned care targets, which aims for patients needing non-urgent, routine treatment to begin care within 18 weeks of referral.

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Sheffield Teaching Hospitals patients were seen within this target 62 per cent of the time in April, compared to a national 57 per cent of the time in March of this year.

Both Sheffield and the national average fell significantly short of the 92 per cent national target.

Steve Barks, governor, said the Trust was “to be congratulated on eradicating the very long 104 week waits.”