More than 2,700 patients attending A&E departments in September in Hywel Dda hospitals waited over four hours to be seen, with 910 waiting over 12 hours.

Figures for September 2019 show that across Wales, the waiting time figures for A&E were the worst on record, although the Hywel Dda percentage of patients seen within four hours was better than the Welsh average, although the percentage of patients waiting longer than 12 hours was higher than the average across Wales.

The statistics show that across the health board as a whole just over 13,000 patients attended at A&E in September with 80.3 per cent seen inside the target time of four hours, meaning 2,719 waited more than four hours.

A total of 93.4 per cent of those patients were seen inside 12 hours, but that left 910 patients waiting past the 12-hour mark.

However, the statistics for Hywel Dda bettered those of neighbouring Betsi Cadwaladr, which was the worst performing health board across Wales.

The Welsh average saw only three-quarters of patients seen inside four hours, while 93.8 per cent of patients were seen inside 12 hours.

In the Betsi Cadwaladr area, 71.7 per cent of patients were seen inside four hours in A&E departments, meaning 5,809 patients waited more than four hours.

Out of the 20,510 patients that attended at A&E departments, 1,973 waited over 12 hours, meaning just 90.4 per cent of patients were seen inside the 12-hour period.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said 2019 had been the busiest on record for emergency services, with September 2019 being the busiest September on record.

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