MORE patients arriving at A&E in Oxfordshire hospitals are being seen by doctors within four hours, according to new statistics from NHS England.

In June a total of 12,680 people attended accident and emergency departments run by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), with a further 2,984 going to units run by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

At hospitals run by OUH, which include the John Radcliffe, Churchill and Horton General Hospitals as well as the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, 11,179 of these - or 88 per cent of all attendances - were admitted to hospital, transferred or discharged within the first four hours, up from 87 per cent in May.

At Oxford Health units all but 75 people were seen within four hours, a total of 97 per cent - also up from 95 per cent the previous month.

This has bucked the national trend, as figures suggest that major hospitals in England are failing to see almost one in seven patients within four hours.

Dr Mark Porter of the British Medical Association said: "We can only get to grips with pressure on A&Es if every part of the system, from our GP surgeries to hospitals to community care, is fully supported and working well, and this includes addressing the shortage of A&E staff."

Bed-blocking figures in Oxfordshire hospitals also appear to be slightly down, with 100 people across the county facing a delayed transfer of care on the last Thursday of June, compared to 122 on the last Thursday in May.