DESPITE NHS waiting times deteriorating across the country, Devon’s hospital trusts have experienced waiting times above the national average in almost every measure this winter.

New data, released by NHS England and collated by the BBC, shows waiting figures for every NHS Trust in England after what has been the service’s worst winter since records began nearly 20 years ago.

In the week starting January 30, 44% of ambulances serving the Royal Devon NHS Trust had to wait over 30 minutes to hand over their patients to A&E staff. The average in England is 24%. Although Torbay and South Devon Trust had just 20% of ambulances waiting over 30 minutes, this was still a marked increase from 4% in 2020.

A&E waits were also above average, with 38% of Royal Devon Healthcare Trust’s 12,955 visits having to wait over four hours to be seen. For Torbay and South Devon, that number was 40%, from 7,831 visits. The national average in January was 28%.

While the NHS’s target time for routine treatments is 18 weeks, an average of 42% of people across England in December were waiting even longer. In the Royal Devon Healthcare Trust, that number was 48%, and in the Torbay and South Devon Trust, it was 55%.

Speaking on behalf of both trusts, a spokesperson for the NHS across Devon said: ‘Our top priority is ensuring the safety of our patients, and our staff have been working really hard to see and treat people as quickly as possible.

‘Hospitals across the country, including in Devon, have been extremely busy this winter. There are a number of reasons for this including sustained high levels of urgent care demand, complex infection prevention and control challenges which affect patients and staff, and delays in securing ongoing care for people who are ready to leave hospital.

‘As a result, some of our patients have experienced long waiting times. We know these challenges have been felt by our patients, their friends and their family, and we are truly sorry for the impact this may have had on our local communities.’