WAITING times at accident and emergency units are getting worse as winter draws in and pressures on hospitals intensify.

The latest figures for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Furness General Hospital in Barrow, showed 550 patients out of 8,819 were not admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival at A&E.

It means the trust missed the government target of getting 95 per cent of patients seen promptly in September, instead recording a figure of 93.8 per cent. This is, however, above the English average.

The figures show a month-on-month decline in performance as the colder months set in and winter illnesses become more prevalent.

Dr John Howarth, director of service improvement for Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, is advising patients to choose health service wisely, and consider their GP, pharmacies or NHS 111 if their condition doesn't require A&E admission.

He said: "With the rising pressures on health services locally it is important that people understand what they can first do for themselves before accessing health services.

"Most people are very capable of looking after themselves most of the time, self-treating when it’s safe and knowing where and when to seek help when they need it.

"However, there are 3.7 million visits nationally to A&E for self-treatable conditions such as flu, colic and sprains which adds to pressure in the health system."

It comes as national figures collected by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine over the past seven weeks showed 88 per cent of A&E patients were treated or admitted within four hours.

The A&E target is widely regarded as a key measure of how the NHS is performing, and an indicator of whether there will be a 'winter NHS crisis'.

The report by RCEM found that many hospitals are experiencing problems discharging patients who are medically fit to go home or move into community care.

The RCEM's president, Dr Cliff Mann, said: "The majority of hospitals have endeavoured to increase the number of beds available to cope.

"Despite this, elective operations have had to be cancelled and postponed as bed capacity is insufficient to cope."