Thousands of A&E patients were left waiting more than four hours in December, new figures have shown.

The required target for A&E departments is to admit, transfer or discharge at least 95 per cent of patients within four hours of arrival.

But at emergency departments in Colchester and Ipswich the figure was 82.4 per cent.

NHS statistics show patients at the East Suffolk and North Essex Trust waited longer on 3,690 occasions in December – 17.6 per cent of all attendances.

Figures for the sustainability and transformation partnership, which includes A&E departments at Colchester, West Suffolk and Ipswich, show 84.8 per cent were seen within four hours.

Nationally, just 79.8 per cent of patients were seen within the time frame – the worst performance for any month since records began in 2010.

Dr Ed Garratt, executive lead for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, said: “This is undoubtedly a challenging time, not only for our hospitals, but across the whole NHS landscape, with an increased level of demand elevating pressure on staff and services.

“It is well known that the whole of 2019 was a challenging year for the NHS with what is known as winter pressures in fact being an all-year-round state of high demand, with winter illnesses adding further strain.

“Compared to hospitals and NHS services nationally, the Suffolk and north east Essex area is performing well.

“Local people are still able to access safe, high quality and caring services – and for that we thank our hardworking staff for their efforts.

“The national A&E waiting time target of four hours is 95 per cent, so we know some people are waiting longer than they should, and we understand this is frustrating.”