Metric permalink
A&E four-hour performance (England)
Part of the Public Service Capacity domain. Percentage of A&E attendances seen and discharged, admitted or transferred within four hours, against the 95% national standard.
Latest data
Latest reading
August 2026
Change between the two latest observations (July 2026 to August 2026), in stress score.
A lower reading is treated as worse for this indicator.
Score composition
Stress score
Since the September 2026 release
What changed on this indicator between the two releases: new observation, source changed.
Blended from two measured components: (2/3 weight) and trend (1/3 weight); where no trend can be computed the metric is scored on its level alone. Volatility is published as a diagnostic and does not enter the blend. Full formula on the methodology page.
Level · 2/3 weight
Percentile: this metric is scored against its own history, where today sits between its best and worst recorded years.
Trend · 1/3 weight
Measured from the direction and size of the change between the two most recent readings.
Volatility · diagnostic, not blended
35Measured from how much this indicator has swung period on period across its recorded history.
Data confidence and provenance
Confidence and source
How much weight to put on the reading, the mean data-confidence across the component metrics (source quality, recency and completeness).
Source
A&E attendances and emergency admissions
- Update frequency
- Monthly
- Reliability
- high
Provenance
- Provider
- NHS England
- Series ID
- A&E 4-hour performance (all types)
- Frequency
- monthly
- Accessed
- 1 October 2026
Known weakness
England-only; the four-hour target has been paused and reintroduced at different points, and Type 1 (major A&E) performance differs markedly from the blended figure.
Notes
Verified official value from NHS England (A&E 4-hour performance (all types)), accessed 2026-10-01.
Historical values
History
| Period | Value | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 89.1 | |
| 2017 | 88.3 | |
| 2018 | 84.8 | |
| 2019 | 84.2 | |
| 2020 | 86.8 | |
| 2021 | 76.7 | |
| 2022 | 70.8 | |
| 2023 | 72.1 | |
| 2024 | 73.9 | |
| Apr 2026 | 76.9 | |
| May 2026 | 75.7 | |
| June 2026 | 75 | |
| July 2026 | 75.4 | |
| August 2026 | 75 |