Recommendation 14

We and past Committees have repeatedly expressed concerns about variations in patients’ experience of health and care.32 The C&AG’s report highlighted considerable differences in both service performance and access across geographical areas and providers. Proportions of the most serious A&E patients waiting less than four hours in March 2023 ranged from 53.3% in the Midlands to 62.1% in the South-East.33 We asked, for example, about the average length of discharge delays in Gloucestershire which is double the national figure. NHS England acknowledged that Gloucestershire is one of the areas it worked most closely with in an attempt to tackle systemic issues, but that similar problems will be replicated across the country.34