Newly released data reveals the true scale of Accident & Emergency waits at Stevenage's Lister Hospital.

According to the data, 1,385 people attending Lister's A&E had to wait longer than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged during February 2023.

In total, 8,490 people attended Lister's A&E during the same month, meaning more than 16 per cent of all attendees had to wait longer than 12 hours.

Across England as a whole, 125,505 people had to wait longer than 12 hours at A&E during February - 10.6 per cent of those attending.

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It is the first time this data has been published. Previously, published data only included the number of attendees who had to wait longer than 12 hours to be admitted after a doctor had already made the decision to admit.

The new data reveals how long patients have to wait from their arrival at A&E, to their being admitted, transferred or discharged.

Publication of the data followed lobbying by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine - representing A&E doctors - which argued that the previous data did not show the full extent of A&E delays.

A spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust said: "Our teams work hard to ensure that people who need care urgently are seen and treated as quickly as possible, but we know and we regret that we do not always achieve this for everyone.

"We have put a number of measures in place to reduce the time people wait to be seen when they arrive at the hospital, and also ensure people can go home as soon as they are well enough.

"We encourage anyone with a minor illness, or an injury such as a suspected broken bone or sprain or a burn or scald, to attend the urgent treatment centre at the New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, where waiting times will be shorter.

"NHS 111 also provides advice and care and can direct people to the most appropriate service for their needs."