Patients attending A&E departments across the West Midlands are still waiting longer than the national target, despite slight improvements in July 2026. A report presented to the NHS Birmingham and Solihull and Black Country Joint ICB Cluster Board revealed that Birmingham and Solihull (BSOL) hospitals saw 73.14 per cent of patients within four hours in July 2026, up from 71.05 per cent in June but still below the 80 per cent target.
BSOL improvements and single point of access plan
To address growing demand, University Hospitals Birmingham and Birmingham Community Health Trust have released a business case for a system-wide BSOL single point of access. The report states: "The overnight model is designed to reduce avoidable hospital conveyances, particularly for falls and frailty, through GP-led clinical oversight, urgent nursing and therapy assessment, treatment in patients' homes, and integration with overnight end-of-life services."
BSOL is also performing well on category 2 emergency call ambulance response times, achieving an average of 16 minutes and 28 seconds in July 2026, well within the 30-minute target.
Black Country performance and response times
In the Black Country, the four-hour waiting time target remained at 78.2 per cent in July 2026, unchanged from the previous month, with an aim to reach 82 per cent by March next year. Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust and Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust both showed improvement, while Royal Wolverhampton Trust and Walsall Healthcare Trust saw slight deterioration.
Actions to improve include delivering flow improvement plans, reducing length of stay, and improving discharge processes. The Black Country also saw a significant improvement in category 2 ambulance response times, with the average in July reduced to 15.5 minutes from 21.48 minutes the month before.
