Barts Health NHS Trust has reported significant improvements in its Accident and Emergency (A&E) performance, with the Royal London Hospital achieving a 78% four-hour standard performance in March 2026. This achievement has led to the trust securing national funding to further enhance patient care.
During a Health and Adult Scrutiny Sub Committee meeting on Monday, 6 July 2026, Daniel Northam-Jones, Deputy Chief Executive of Barts Health NHS Trust, presented an update on the trust's performance. He highlighted that the 78% four-hour standard performance for the Royal London Hospital was among the best in the country. The national target for 4-hour performance is 82% for 26/27.
We're really proud of that, and our performance for that period was among the best in the country,
Mr. Northam-Jones stated. We've won, have been awarded some national funding based on that performance, which will obviously be invested in further improvements for our patients and your residents.
These improvements were a result of a comprehensive review of internal and external patient pathways. Key initiatives implemented in the 2025/26 period included changes to the patient journey for those arriving by ambulance. This involved a change to ensure quicker senior reviews
and is part of a programme to Reduce the number of ambulances attending the Royal London Hospital by increasing the number of calls going to our Remote Emergency Access Coordination Hub and Physicians Response Unit, led by consultants who can advise LAS and patients how they can be cared for in the community.
This initiative aims to ensure a significant number of patients, hundreds of patients every month, are able to get the care that they need without an ambulance bringing them to the hospital through an alternative pathway.
This is described as better for that patient, keeps them in their home, it frees up an ambulance to go and see somebody else, and it means the emergency department is less crowded and congested for the patients that do need to be seen there.
Mr. Northam-Jones also detailed the trust's wider priorities for the upcoming year. These include a big focus on reducing our waiting list for planned care.
The trust has made a huge amount of progress in reducing the patients who've waited a very long time for care
and is also reducing the average wait for patients to be seen and seeing an increasing number of patients within the 18-week standard for planned care, which we're pleased about.
The trust is also working to enhance collaboration with partners across North East London to ensure patients access the most appropriate care pathway. This includes working with partners across NEL
and specifically mentions the London Ambulance Service, through our reach service and the single point of access
to provide a senior clinical review to patients before they're conveyed to the hospital in an ambulance.
They also work with local GPs
for their urgent treatment centre
and are increasingly using data to plan how we manage the 700 or so beds in the hospital
in deep partnership with our community and social care and primary care colleagues.
Additionally, they are working with other hospitals across Barts Health, so the three other hospitals in Barts Health, particularly thinking about our surgical pathways.
Furthermore, they are collaborating with ELFT and with primary care partners to improve pathways to support those patients in the emergency department as inpatients and as they move back to alternative settings.
More information on the trust's performance can be found in the Public reports pack for the Health and Adult Scrutiny Sub Committee meeting.
