Almost 1,500 North East patients spent 12 hours or more in A&E waiting for a hospital bed in December

Shocking NHS figures show well over a thousand patients at North East hospital A&Es spent more than 12 hours waiting for beds to become available.

Data showing how A&E coped during December last year highlights how nationwide, for the first time since records began, less than half of people attending "type 1" emergency departments were seen within four hours - and this is coupled with higher than ever numbers of long "trolley-waits", including in the North East.

At the region's "type 1" A&E departments - traditional full-service A&Es - a staggering 56,808 people turned up for treatment across the month. By comparison, in December 2021 at the five NHS trusts in our area the corresponding figure was just 48,203.