University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) has been rated the most improved Trust in England in relation to the four-hour target despite increased demand for the Emergency Department.

In data shared by NHS England, UHP is leading the trusts who have made the most improvement regarding the four-hour waiting time target for patients attending the Emergency Department during the 2024/25 year.

The four-hour target for 2024/25 is to see and treat 78 per cent of patients within four hours of them arriving at an Emergency Department.

In 2023/24 UHP was seeing an average of 54.9 per cent of patients within four hours, but with the recent improvements this has risen by almost 10 per cent to 64.8 per cent in the 2024/25 financial year to date.

UHP is also among the top 10 trusts in the country for improvements in the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours in the Emergency Department.

In 2023/24, 18 per cent of patients attending as emergencies would have waited more than 12 hours, however, in the 2024/25 financial year to date this has decreased to 16 per cent of patients.

These improvements have been made despite demand for emergency services at UHP increasing by 6.1 per cent in 2024/25.

Meeting this additional demand and improving the experience for the almost 300 patients attending the Emergency Department each day has been possible due to the commitment and dedication of colleagues who are working on the Trust’s ‘One Plan’.

Vicky Carter, Senior Matron for Urgent and Emergency Care, said: “For our patients, what we are showing is that they are not waiting on the back of ambulances for as long.

“We’re able to get them into a more comfortable space, we’re able to get them onto an appropriate bed.”