New figures show Nottingham University Hospitals is missing A&E targets

The NHS standard is for 95 per cent of patients to be seen within four hours.

However, the Government announced a two-year plan to stabilise NHS services earlier this year which set a recovery target of 76 per cent of patients being seen within four hours by March 2024.

NHS England figures show there were 18,224 visits to A&E at NUH in September.

Of them, 8,032 were seen within four hours – accounting for 44 per cent of arrivals – meanng NUH fell significantly short of the NHS target.

Dr Tasso Gazis, clinical director at NUH, said: “We recognise the challenges faced in our emergency department and know that we need to do better for our patients.

“We have introduced a number of initiatives to improve wait times, like virtual wards and a same day emergency care unit which mean patients are able to get the care they need without an unnecessary trip to our emergency department.

“Our staff are working incredibly hard to ensure patients with the most urgent medical needs are prioritised whilst demand on our services remains high.

“We ask the public to continue to help us by thinking carefully about which NHS services they use.

"If you are unsure, visit NHS 111 online and they will direct you to the best place for your care.”

Across England, in September, 33,107 arrivals in A&E waited more than 12 hours from a decision to admit to actually being admitted – up 15 per cent from August.

At NUH 1,565 patients waited longer than four hours, including 753 who were delayed by more than 12 hours.

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the health think tank The King's Fund, said A&E departments have had a busy summer and are now facing a ‘punishing winter’.

He added: "A combination of thinking long term about improving people’s access to out-of-hospital care, making health and social care a more attractive career, and tackling the biggest risk factors affecting people’s health, is what will slowly reverse the decline in NHS performance.

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said NHS acute care services continued to be under ‘immense strain’ with clinicians expecting the coming months to be as ‘chaotic and challenging’ as last winter.

The overall number of attendances to A&E at NUH in September was a rise of six per cent on the 17,210 visits recorded during August, and nine per cent more than the 16,668 patients seen in September 2022.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said despite the pressure, the figures show NHS staff are ‘working incredibly hard to deliver for patients’.

He added that the NHS delivered on its ambition to roll out 10,000 virtual ward beds by the end of September.

More than 240,000 patients have now been treated on virtual wards, the NHS said, adding that research shows people who are treated at home recover at the same rate or faster than those in hospital.