One in five are waiting over 12 hours at A&E

STRIKES ARE ADDING TO RISING NHS PRESSURES

MORE than one in five people arriving at Derriford Hospital's A&E department are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged, new figures show.

It is the first time data has been published that measures waits of more than 12 hours from the point of arrival at A&E, and comes as the overall waiting list for treatment in England has climbed to a new record high.

The number of people waiting more than 12 or 18 months for treatment has continued to fall, however.

Nationally, the NHS England figure for A&E departments is around one in 10 people having to wait more than 12 hours.

The February figures show that for University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, which runs Derriford Hospital, the proportion was 24.4% - one of the highest percentages in the country while for Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust in Truro it was 20.5%.

Across the country, the 10.6% of arrivals at hospitals with major A&E departments in February who had to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, discharged or transferred was the equivalent of 125,505 people.