Hard-pressed medics at Southend's accident and emergency unit are treating 300 more patients a month than a year ago - with no new staff.
The revelation coincides with a warning from the Audit Commission that waiting times in A & E units across the country were growing and set to get worse.
The commission's controller, Sir Andrew Foster, described the trend as "troubling".
Southend's director of operations and service development, Anne James, admitted the increase in patients over the past year but stressed there was no evidence to show they were waiting longer.
She could not explain the increase in demand for A & E services but said the hospital was working to ensure all patients needing a bed were admitted more quickly.
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