STAFF who work in York Hospital's accident and emergency department are on the very front line of the health service.

But for years a lack of resources and organisational bottlenecks have prevented them from delivering treatments at the speed they would have liked.

Too many patients have experienced the long, grim wait in casualty. Often in pain and shock, they faced hours of delays before an overworked doctor could help them.

To its credit, the Government recognised this was not good enough. It has made more money available for A&E departments and set a new standard: no one should wait more than four hours, which is still an awfully long time.

Tonight we reveal that York Hospital is well on the way to meeting that target. This is a tribute to the multi-skilled medics in casualty. Highly trained nurses now work alongside doctors in treating patients.

Teamwork across the hospital has also paid dividends. Departments have pulled together to release beds and expertise when required to relieve the A&E burden.

Life on the frontline is unlikely to get any easier, however. Thanks to the success of A&E, more patients now see it as a quick route to treatment.

Today health ministers issued new guidelines on the provision of out-of-hours doctor services. If the public are not reassured that emergency GP night cover is available, A&E departments could soon be swamped and struggling again.

Updated: 09:39 Thursday, October 14, 2004