New data shows fewer patients waiting several hours for a hospital bed in Wigan

Statistics from NHS England reveal how many people waited several hours for a bed last month at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL).

In April, 849 people waited more than four hours, once a decision to admit was made, down from 958 the month before and from 1,539 in April 2025.

There were waits of more than 12 hours for 321 people, compared to 407 in April and 444 in April 2025.

The Better Lives transformation programme aims to support people to stay in their own homes, rather than being admitted, while help is also given to patients medically ready to be discharged from hospital, freeing up beds.

Nationally, 12-hour waits increased from 46,665 in March to 47,750 in April, while four-hour waits stood at 122,616, down from 123,870 in March.

The data shows there were 12,691 attendances at WWL in April – 6,399 at Wigan Infirmary’s A&E department and 6,292 at urgent treatment centres (UTC).

This was lower than in March but higher than in April 2025, when there were 12,138 attendances and 5,708 of those were at a UTC.

Patients arriving at A&E are now being streamed to ensure those who do not require emergency care are seen at a UTC instead.

Across the trust, 76.5 per cent of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within the target time of four hours, which was down 78.1 per cent in March but an improvement from 71.4 per cent in April last year.

At A&E alone, 54.0 per cent were seen on time, down from 57.5 per cent in March but up from 47.2 per cent in April 2025.

The data showed 76.9 per cent of patients in England were seen within four hours in April, down from 77.1 per cent in March.

The Government and NHS England had set a target of March this year for 78 per cent of patients being seen within four hours, meaning the target was missed.

Sarah Brennan, WWL’s chief operating officer, said: “We have seen continued progress across our urgent and emergency care services in April and would like to thank our communities for their patience and support.

“Our teams are working closely to align the way that we work to ensure that we make appropriate and timelier decisions about patient care. This means people are being seen faster and receiving the right treatment in the right place, in turn, helping to reduce long waits.

“While our Royal Abert Edward Infirmary (RAEI) site A&E attendances have fallen, an increased number of patients are taking the opportunity to use our urgent treatment centres at RAEI and at Leigh Infirmary. This is in line with our focus on directing people to the most appropriate service first time, enabling a more effective use of services and improving overall patient experience by ensuring care is delivered in the right setting, at the right time and by the most appropriate clinician.

“As always, we thank our staff for their dedication and hard work. We also remind the public to use A&E only for life, limb or sight-threatening conditions. For less urgent needs, please use NHS 111, pharmacies, urgent treatment centres or your GP.”