Waiting times for urgent and emergency care have fallen across Kent and Medway every month this year.
More than 80 per cent of people are now seen within four hours, thanks to the huge amount of work from dedicated NHS staff.
Latest figures, for April, show 81.6 per cent of patients are seen within four hours, above the 76 per cent national target.
Lee Martin, Chief Delivery Officer at NHS Kent and Medway, said: “This is a great achievement for the NHS in Kent and Medway and and follows our performance in March, where we were the highest in the country for patients being seen within four hours.
“Making sure people have access to the treatment they need is a priority and I am pleased we have made this progress.
“We know some patients are unfortunately waiting longer and we will continue to improve to make sure everyone gets the right care for them.
“Patients can help by using the right service for them – A&E is for life-threatening conditions. If you are not sure, use NHS 111 online or by phone or visit www.StopThinkChoose.co.uk for local services.”
Supporting you at home
Patients across Kent and Medway are also being helped to stay well in their own home and avoid an unnecessary trip to hospital.
More than 35,000 people have been supported through schemes designed to treat people closer to home and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, including virtual wards (also known as hospital at home), clinical hubs and home treatment services.
Last year, 17,000 patients were referred to virtual wards. The service enables patients to have the care they need safely and conveniently at home, rather than being in hospital.
Clinical hubs in east and west Kent - which assess patients waiting for an ambulance and put them in touch with more appropriate services - have helped hundreds of patients since the scheme was launched last autumn.
And home treatment services helped more than 18,500 patients last year.
Lee added: “The NHS is working extremely hard to provide the best outcomes for patients by providing care closer to home, where a hospital admission isn’t necessarily the best treatment option.
“These schemes have prevented thousands of unnecessary hospital journeys and helped ease pressure on the ambulance service and emergency departments.”
Find out more about how the NHS in Kent and Medway is performing against government targets.
Family praises NHS after elderly relative receives hospital care at home
A family has praised the NHS after their elderly relative received hospital care in the comfort of his own home.
Arthur Tunbridge, from Kingswood, was referred to the home treatment service after his health took a turn for the worse.
The 95-year-old, who had a right-sided stroke two years ago and suffers from COPD, had developed a chesty cough and was getting little relief from medication used to treat his condition.
His condition could be better managed by the home treatment service in west Kent, run by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.
The urgent care service aims to help patients with long-term conditions or frailty, where a hospital admission would not be the best option.
Arthur was able to remain at home with his wife Barbara, 88, and receive specialist care from a multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals.
Praising the service, his daughter-in-law Mary Tunbridge said: “It’s so important and reassuring to have these new innovations to keep elderly people out of hospital.
“Arthur has said it was the ’NHS at their best’ and is very grateful for such great local services and the innovations preventing hospital admission, especially for older people and for everyone’s ongoing support to him and his family.”
Find further information about the home treatment service.
Arthur Tunbridge, from Kingswood, was saved a trip to A&E and received hospital care in the comfort of his own home.