FEWER patients visited A&E at Bradford Teaching Hospitals and Airedale Hospital last month, but the hospitals have struggled to meet their NHS targets for waiting times.

A spokesperson for the two hospitals has said their A&E departments "continue to be very busy" and they apologised for patients having to wait longer.

NHS England figures show 11,030 patients visited A&E at Bradford in April, a drop of 12 per cent on the 12,530 visits recorded during March, and four per cent lower than the 11,534 patients seen in April 2021.

The figures show 6,106 patients visited A&E at Airedale in April, a drop of 10 per cent on the 6,817 visits recorded during March, but one per cent more than the 6,036 patients seen in April 2021.

Attendances were well above the levels seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – in April 2020, there were 6,016 visits to A&E at sites run by Bradford Teaching Hospitals and 3,142 visits to A&E at Airedale Hospital.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.

Across England, A&E departments received two million visits last month, a decrease of seven per cent compared to March, but nine per cent more than the 1.9 million seen during April 2021.

At Bradford Teaching Hospitals in April, just 73 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent.

A total of 973 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – nine per cent of patients. Of those, four were delayed by more than 12 hours.

At Airedale in April, there were 209 booked appointments, up from 185 in March and just 60 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours. Of those, only one patient waited longer than four hours for treatment.

In a joint statement, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our A&E departments continue to be very busy. We are sorry that some patients are having to wait longer than they have to, but we are seeing some very unwell people and they must always take priority.

“Our staff are doing their best to deliver appropriate, timely care, but we would always urge people with non-urgent problems to contact their GP, call NHS 111 or visit their local pharmacy for advice before attending A&E.”