MORE than 17,000 patients attending Royal Bournemouth and Poole Hospital had to wait more than four hours to be seen last year, new figures reveal.

NHS data shows that A&E patients at Poole Hospital NHS Trust were left waiting more than four hours on 10,057 occasions in 2018-19.

It means that only 89 per cent of around 91,100 attendances were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival – below the NHS’s target of 95 per cent.

The proportion of patients seen within the target time at the trust has dropped in recent years – the figure stood at 95 per cent in 2013-14.

A spokesman for the hospital admitted it was under 'significant pressure'. "Operationally, 2018/19 was once again a year of significant pressure for Poole Hospital, with increasing demand for our services, in line with the other acute NHS Trusts and the NHS in general," he said. "Although this has at times impacted on our performance, for example, on waiting times for our services, overall, we continue to be very proud of the standard of care we provide, as evidenced by our performance in national patient surveys. In April 2019 our organisation was chosen to participate in the testing of the proposed new standards for urgent and emergency care in collaboration with NHS England and NHS Improvement. Our focus throughout the trial remains firmly on delivering safe, excellent, clinically appropriate patient care and experience."

The same data set showed that NHS A&E patients at Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Trust did a little better, waiting more than four hours on 7,392 occasions in the past 12 months.

This means that only 93 per cent of around 103,000 attendances were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival – just below the NHS’s target of 95 per cent.

The proportion of patients seen within the target time at the trust has dropped slightly in recent years – the figure stood at 96 per cent in 2013-14.

In a statement RBCH said that it had seen an overall 25 per cent increase in attendances at its A&E in the last five years, up from 80,000 to over 102,000. "Last year we met the four hour target for nearly 96,000 patients, narrowly missing the NHS’s target of 95 percent by only two per cent," he said. "Patients with the highest clinical needs are always prioritised and we urge the public to try and help our staff and patients needing urgent care by seeking alternatives to our A&E where appropriate."

Medical experts nationally have blamed a combination of staff shortages, a lack of funding, and increased demand for rising waiting times across England, and said a no-deal Brexit "would only exacerbate these pressures".

The figures come at a time when NHS bosses nationally have recently unveiled plans to scrap the four-hour standard – introduced in 2004 – after arguing it was outdated due to the changing nature of emergency care.

They propose replacing it with four new targets, including a focus on the most critically ill and injured, and measuring the average waiting time for all patients.

Tim Gardner, senior policy fellow at the charity the Health Foundation, said “huge” efforts by NHS staff saw more people treated in time last year.

But he said the trend towards longer waits is likely to continue, as hospitals grapple with rising demand, a workforce crisis and continued underfunding.

He added: “A no-deal Brexit, which appears increasingly likely, would only exacerbate these pressures.

“Staffing shortages would be intensified, driving up demand for hard-pressed services, disrupting supplies of medicines and other necessities, and stretching the public finances which pay for health care.”