ALMOST half of hospital A&E patients have to wait more than three hours to be seen, with hospital chiefs blaming bed-blocking for delays.

Figures obtained by the Oxford Mail show 3,392 out of 6,822 people had to wait three hours or more in May at the John Radcliffe Hospital’s casualty department.

Previously, hospital bosses have only reported the percentage of people seen within four hours by a clinician.

The national target to be seen in four hours is 95 per cent.

Around 41 per cent waited more than three hours in May 2010 compared to 49.7 per cent in May this year.

And, when broken into 15 minute spells, it also emerged the final quarter of an hour before the four hour target was the busiest.

The hospital said the last minute surge was “a result of the focus of the emergency teams on achievement of this important quality standard”.

Hospital chiefs explained a “shortage of provision” in social services and NHS community hospitals meant patients could not leave wards to free up beds for A&E. An Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman said: “Meeting the four hour standard has been a particular challenge for the trust. Mainly because of the knock on effect of having a high number of patients with a delayed discharge.”

Oxfordshire Unison branch secretary Mark Ladbrooke said: “The whole system is completely unsatisfactory from the point of view of the patient and hugely overworked staff.

“There is a real problem of capacity resulting from Government cuts.”