Patients are waiting longer to be seen in A&E departments in the Bradford area, as evidence grows of a crisis across England.

Bradford Royal Infirmary and Airedale Hospital missed a key Government target to avoid waits of longer than four hours, official statistics show.

Casualty departments are expected to deal with 95 per cent of patients within four hours, a target the Coalition inherited from Labour.

But both Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (93.2 per cent) and Airedale NHS Trust (93 per cent) fell short in the week ending May 12, the most recent figures available.

The statistics were revealed as a row broke out yesterday over the A&E crisis, amid warnings emergency care systems could collapse in six months in some areas.

Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt blamed Labour’s 2004 GP contract – allowing family doctors to opt out of out-of-hours care.

But Labour pointed to the introduction of the new NHS 111 helpline last month – reportedly against the advice of leading doctors.

Callers have waited up to 30 minutes to get an answer on the 111 line – or abandoned calls altogether – so people have gone to A&E instead.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust pointed to a 3.7 per cent increase in the number of patients attending A&E last year and it insisted it had already bounced back from missing the 95 per cent target in figures yet to be officially published.

Sandy Spencer, the interim chief operating officer, said: “Unfortunately, this missed target happened during a very busy period and is in line with the similar pressures that other A&E departments are currently experiencing.

“We are pleased to say that, since May 13, 98.35 per cent per cent of patients at the foundation trust are currently spending less than four hours in A&E.

“This improvement has been achieved following an on-going review of our emergency care patient pathway to ensure that we continue to offer our patients in Bradford an excellent service.”