Nearly one fifth of hospitals consistently fail to hit waiting-time targets, according to new BBC analysis, with 29 hospital trusts out of 157 failing to meet a single target for a whole year.

Waiting time targets are different across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland; but in each nation patients are meant to be seen within four hours of arrival in A&E. A spokesperson for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the NHS was ‘on the back foot’ because of staff and bed shortages.

The Department of Health and Social Care in England praised ‘hard-working staff’ and said that extra money over the coming years would help alleviate problems.

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→ The BBC - The hospitals that fail to treat patients on time