Just two-thirds of patients who arrived at accident and emergency at Plymouth Hospitals Trust last month were seen within four hours, new figures show.

The NHS standard is for 95% of patients to be seen within four hours. However, as part of a recovery plan, the health service has extended its objective for 78% of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred within this time frame by March 2026.

Recent NHS England figures show there were 16,598 visits to A&E at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in October. Of them, 11,275 were seen within four hours – accounting for 68% of arrivals.

This means the trust fell below the recovery target and the original standard.

It comes as thousands of resident doctors across England are preparing to strike for five days from 7am on Friday.

About 74% of patients in England were seen within four hours in A&Es last month, down slightly from 75% in September.

Figures also show 54,314 emergency admissions waited more than 12 hours in A&E departments from a decision to admit to actually being admitted – a significant jump from 44,765 the month before.

The number waiting at least four hours from a decision to admit to admission also increased, standing at 142,734 patients in October.

At University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, 1,175 patients waited longer than four hours, including 528 who were delayed by more than 12 hours.

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive at The King’s Fund, said: "After facing an awful autumn, suffering through the busiest October on record for A&Es, the NHS is now heading into a winter blizzard of pressures because of rising demand, industrial action, and a flu season that could be the worst in years – all of which will have knock-on effects for patient care.

"And while the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care this week announced redundancies created by cuts to local NHS bodies will be covered by recouping costs further down the line, none of this points to good news for staff or patients this winter, with a hospital waiting list that is stubbornly high at 7.4 million"

About 2.4 million people attended A&E departments across England last month, the busiest October on record.

The overall number of attendances to A&E at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in October was a rise of 5% on the 15,857 visits recorded during September, and 11% more than the 14,966 patients seen in October 2023.

Earlier this week it was announced the NHS will be permitted to overspend its budget this year, to pay the £1 billion one-off redundancy bill needed for the Government's restructuring plans.

The headcount across both NHS England and the Department of Health will be cut by around 50%, with around 18,000 administrative staff and managers, including on local health boards, set to go.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: "It has been a difficult period of uncertainty for our members, and we know this has placed a strain on staff.

"We’ll await the full details but for now we are pleased to see that this situation has been resolved and that we can proceed with the redundancy programme.

"This will provide clarity for staff and help release savings down the line."

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "Thanks to the investment and modernisation this Government has made, waiting lists are falling and patients are being treated sooner.

"We are cutting waste to reinvest billions over the coming years in frontline care – less unnecessary bureaucracy and more services for patients.

"And at the Budget the Chancellor is protecting investment in the NHS, to rebuild after more than a decade of decline"