North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS still worst in England for A&E waits

The NHS trust which runs hospitals in North Lincolnshire and Goole has again recorded the worst emergency waiting times in England.

Just under 53% of people were seen within four hours of arriving at A&E last month, compared to the NHS target of 95%.

It's the second month in a row the trust has recorded the worst figures in England.

Nationally just under three quarters of people were seen within the target.

Dr Peter Reading, Chief Executive of North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I want to sincerely apologise to every patient who had a long wait in our departments last month. Staff in our A&E departments are doing a fantastic job every day, seeing as many people as possible, as quickly as they can. They are, however, feeling the strain with the numbers of patients attending every day. On top of this, we are continuing to see COVID-19 cases coming to our hospitals and the whole of the Humber region’s health system is seeing high demand.

 “I would urge our local communities to think carefully about the NHS service which is appropriate for them. If you have an urgent medical problem and you’re not sure what to do, please call NHS 111 for advice from their specialist clinical team.”

Hull had the country's third lowest figure at just under 56%.

Nationally, major A&E departments treated more than 1.4 million people during October - the third highest figure of all time.

Ambulance staff responded to more than 82,000 life threatening call-outs, the highest since the previous record in October 2019 .

And the 999 service in England had its busiest ever month, answering more than a million calls.