More patients were seen within four hours at Wigan Infirmary’s under-pressure A&E department and fewer had long waits for beds in December, compared to the year before.

While the unit saw more patients last month, new figures from NHS England showed it performed better than in December 2024.

It follows a number of measures introduced by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) to ease pressure on A&E and free up beds on wards.

The new data shows there were 8,080 attendances at Wigan’s A&E unit in December, up from 7,302 in December 2024 but down from 8,206 in November.

placeholder image — Wigan Infirmary's A&E unit

An investigation has revealed Wigan pest controllers were called out thousands o...

The aim is for patients to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours and this was met for fewer than half of patients (49.7 per cent), a fall from 55.1 per cent in November. However, it was higher than the 45.2 per cent in December 2024.

Leigh Urgent Treatment Centre saw 4,363 patients in December, down from 4,673 in November and 5,612 in December 2024, meaning overall attendances were down across WWL.

Across the trust, 66.8 per cent of patients were seen in four hours, compared to 70.8 per cent in November and 68.3 per cent in December 2024.

In December there were 2,706 emergency admissions, a decrease from 2,967 in November and 2,890 in December 2024.

But once the decision to admit was made, 1,001 people had to wait for more than four hours for a bed and 453 waited for more than 12 hours.

However, that was an improvement from the previous December, when there were four-hour waits for 1,663 people and 12-hour waits for 508 people.

December is always a busy time for the NHS, with hospital bosses urging people to only go to A&E if necessary and the Observer receiving accounts of patients waiting for days for a bed.

We previously reported the experience of Nicki Yates, who compared the unit to a “war zone” while her 70-year-old mum Angela Pomfret spent four days there last month as she waited for a bed to become available on a ward. Sadly, she died a short time later.

Sarah Brennan, WWL’s chief operating officer, said: “While WWL did experience a drop in attendances from November to December – a normal seasonal variation and reflective of lower attendances over the festive period – our ED continues to experience significant pressure, and year on year increases in demand.

“We are always grateful for the dedication and commitment shown by our staff throughout these times of extreme pressure. We would also like to thank our community for their patience and understanding and apologise for the times when they may have experienced longer than usual wait

times.

“In response to this rising demand, WWL has increased our nursing staff levels and senior nursing leadership to enhance the quality of patient care, especially during peak times and when addressing the needs of patients in overcrowded departments.

“As always, the public can really help us by remembering that our ED should only be used for life, limb and sight-threatening illnesses and injuries. If you need help in these situations, you must come forward. For conditions which are less urgent, please use NHS 111 online or by phone, or consider visiting a local pharmacy, walk-in centre or GP practice for support.”