Colchester General Hospital was the worst-performing hospital in England last week for treating patients in accident and emergency departments within four hours, official figures have today shown.

Only around seven in 10 patients (71.8%) who attended Colchester General Hospital’s A&E unit were seen within four hours in the week ending January 11, according to research by NHS England.

It was the lowest proportion out of all 140 major hospitals in the country. The hospital was ranked the third-worst in the previous week.

A total of 1,250 patients visited the hospital’s emergency department last week, meaning 352 were not treated within four hours – just over 50 each day.

The last time Colchester General Hospital met the Government target of seeing 95% of A&E patients within four hours was the week ending September 14 – meaning the hospital has failed to hit the target for 17 consecutive weeks.

However, the latest figures represent an improvement on the previous week – the week ending January 4 – when just 64% of 1,289 patients who attended the hospital’s A&E unit were seen within four hours.

Elsewhere in the region, improvements were also seen. At Ipswich Hospital, 91.6% of 1,426 A&E patients were seen within four hours last week. In the previous week, 90.9% of 1,467 patients were seen within four hours.

But despite the improvement, Ipswich Hospital’s ranking fell from 24 to 36 after other hospitals improved at a faster rate. The national average was 89.8% last week, higher than 86.7% in the previous week.

Meanwhile, West Suffolk Hospital’s weekly-ranking improved. It is now 104th after 83.2% of 1,126 A&E patients were seen within four hours last week. In the previous week, 76.9% of 1,167 A&E patients were seen within four hours, placing it 111th.

But the region’s three main hospitals are still falling short of the Government’s current target of treating 95% of A&E patients within four hours.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday said hospitals nationwide are facing “real difficulties” this winter but insisted it was “not good enough” that some were falling far short of the A&E target.