THE amount of patients visiting A&E in Worcestershire who were seen by a doctor or nurse within four hours dropped below 95 per cent in August for the first time since May.

Figures released by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital and Redditch’s Alexandra Hospital, showed the organisation narrowly missed the target last month with 5.24 per cent – roughly 656 people – waiting longer than the mandated four-hour period.

A report written by the organisation’s chief executive Penny Venables said August had been an unusually busy month, with a particular increase in patients aged 75 and over visiting hospital.

August also saw the amount of patients waiting longer than the NHS-mandated 18 weeks for an elective operation increase to 1,755 from 1,677 in July. This figure has not dipped below 1,000 for more than a year.

Although trust bosses had originally pledged to clear the backlog by September, continued pressure on the three hospitals throughout the summer has meant this has not been achieved.

Patient watchdog Worcestershire Healthwatch is currently carrying out a study into why people chose to visit A&E as part of an extensive campaign working to ensure patients are aware of alternatives to visiting hospital in non-emergency situations.

Although patients are always advised to call 999 or go to A&E in an emergency, Minor Injury Units in Kidderminster and Tenbury – which are both open 24 hours a day – as well as Evesham, Malvern and Bromsgrove can deal with any non-urgent problems and waiting times are usually much shorter than at A&E.

For health advice call NHS 111.