NEARLY 12,000 people waited more than four hours in A&E to receive treatment at the trust which runs hospitals in Basingstoke, Winchester and Andover. 

A new report has ranked the NHS trusts where the most people waited over four hours at A&Es across England between April to June this year. 

The data has been collated by ePower Trucks and Online Marketing Surgery using data published by the NHS. 

Of those who attended A&Es run by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 31.4 per cent waited for four hours or more to be seen.

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Out of the total 38,086 patients seen across the three months, nearly 12,000 (11,961) waited for four hours or more.

Chief operating officer at Hampshire Hospitals, Andy Hyett, said: “Like hospitals nationally, we continue to see really high demand for our emergency services.

"This has at times meant that patients have had to wait longer than we would like to access care. We would like to thank our communities for their patience and our staff for their dedication and hard work.

“To support patient flow in our hospitals which in turn reduces waiting times in the Emergency Department, we are focused on what we can do within the hospital to ensure patients are supported to get home quickly and are working on innovative solutions, such as the use of virtual wards where people are monitored in the comfort of their own home.

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“To help keep the Emergency Department free for those who need it most, people should consider using alternative services including NHS 111 Online, local pharmacies or their GP practice if they need advice or help that isn’t life-threatening.

“Our consultation for a new hospital for Hampshire includes looking at options for how we provide urgent care services including developing an urgent treatment centre in Basingstoke.”

The trust with the highest percentage in Hampshire was Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, with 36.5 per cent of attendees (16,435) waiting over the four-hour threshold.

Second on the list was University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, with 34.5 per cent, working out at 13,010 people in total, with Practice Plus Group Hospital, Southampton, which saw 3.2 per cent of its 15,878 patients waiting over four hours ranked fourth.