Long wait for a bed for emergency patients being admitted to Wigan's hospitals

There was a 25.2 per cent rise in the number of people waiting more than 12 hours for a bed at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) in September, the figures from NHS England show.

It comes after several messages from hospital bosses in the past few months urging patients to only go to A&E if necessary as well as asking people to help loved ones return home once medically fit, combined with strike action by consultants and junior doctors.

A total of 278 patients had to wait for 12 hours, after the decision to admit was made, up from 222 in August.

The data also shows 1,388 people waited more than four hours for a bed in September, just below 1,389 the month before.

Nationally, the number of people waiting longer than 12 hours in A&E departments for a bed was 33,107 in September, up 15 per cent from 28,859 in August.

The number waiting at least four hours from the decision to admit to admission also increased, from 120,120 in August to 125,829 in September, a rise of 4.75 per cent.

Overall, 12,517 people sought emergency care in September – 7,146 at Wigan Infirmary’s A&E department and 5,371 at Leigh Walk-In Centre – up from 12,126 in August.

Across the trust, 69.8 per cent of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within the four-hour target time, increasing from 69.3 per cent the month before.

But fewer than half – 47.6 per cent – were seen on time at A&E, down from 48.1 per cent, while 99.3 per cent seen at the walk-in centre.

There were 3,052 emergency admissions, with the majority of those coming from the casualty department.

Some 71.6 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down from 73 per cent in August.

The NHS recovery plan sets a target of March 2024 for 76 per cent of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.