Patients at Dorset County Hospital wait over four hours amid funding crisis

A spokesman for the hospital said demand is expected to rise further still - and residents are being asked to avoid using the emergency department for less serious conditions.

Medical experts 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."

NHS data shows that A&E patients at Dorset County Hospital NHS Trust were left waiting more than four hours on 4,573 occasions in 2018-19.

But 96 per cent of attendances were still admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival – just above the NHS's target of 95 per cent.

A spokesman for Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “Despite unprecedented pressure on our Emergency Department (ED) we remain above the national average for A&E wait performance. This is only possible due to a huge amount of commitment and hard work from staff throughout the hospital and we are incredibly grateful for their unwavering dedication to providing the best possible care for our patients.

“Demand on our services is set to rise further so we must prepare for that and we are aiming to secure funding to expand our Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit as part of plans to develop our site.

“We appeal to people to help us manage the pressure on hospital services by using the Emergency Department appropriately. You should only attend the ED for serious life threatening conditions and injuries.

“We are following all the national guidance for preparations for a no deal Brexit.”

NHS bosses recently unveiled plans to scrap the four-hour standard – introduced in 2004 – after arguing it was outdated due to the changing nature of emergency care.

It proposed 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.”

Dr Simon Walsh, the British Medical Association’s emergency medicine lead, said it was particularly concerning that waiting times had increased in major trauma units, where many of the most critically sick or injured patients are treated.

He described the Government’s recent spending commitment for the NHS as "disappointing", adding: "It’s clear that significantly more investment is needed across the board to turn things around, both for our hardworking staff and the communities they serve.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We’re backing the NHS with £1.8 billion for world-class facilities to improve frontline patient care across the country, on top of our historic commitment of £33.9 billion extra taxpayers’ money every year by 2023-24 – the largest and longest cash settlement in the history of the NHS."

For minor conditions there are other local healthcare services available in Dorset - details can be found staywelldorset.nhs.uk