Stepping Hill Trust A&E was worst in country for waiting times last week

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, the parent trust of Stepping Hill Hospital, had the worst A&E waiting times in the country last week, with just 59.3% of patients seen within four hours.

The government's target is 95%.

The figures also show 180 ambulance handovers were delayed by more than 30 minutes in Greater Manchester in the first weekend of January 2014. By last weekend that number had gone up to 351.

In the first weekend of January last year, eight operations had to cancelled in Greater Manchester. That figure had jumped to 30 for last weekend.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said: "Like other hospitals all over the country we have been experiencing significant pressures due to the number of acutely ill people arriving at our A&E.

“We know that long waits in A&E are hugely distressing for patients, and we apologise for this, but our main priority is patient safety. We hope people understand that we have to prioritise and treat the most urgent cases first.

“Every possible effort is being made to safely treat and discharge patients. Other activities, such as operations, have been delayed or cancelled.

"This is a hugely complex challenge and all staff in our organisation and other agencies across Stockport are working incredibly hard in very difficult circumstances.

“We are urging people to only come to A&E if it is an emergency”.