NEW figures have shown the extent to which the York Hospital Trust has struggled to cope with the numbers of patients flooding into A&E. 

Newly published data shows just 85 per cent of patients who attended A&E in York and Scarborough Hospitals during Christmas week were treated within the four-hour time limit against a target of 95 per cent.

>>> FLASHBACK: Fire engine has to double as ambulance as York Hospital crisis continues - "major incident" declared at Scarborough. Patients urged to think twice before coming to hospital.

A total of 3,373 went through the doors of the emergency departments on the week ending December 28, NHS England said.

In England, 90.5 per cent of A&E patients were seen within four hours.

Waiting times in accident and emergency departments in England have plummeted to their worst levels in more than a decade.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said hospital bosses feel they are "running just to keep still" to cope with rising demand.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There is a huge amount of pressure, that's absolutely clear."

Many non-urgent operations continue to be postponed at York and Scarborough Hospitals and a major incident has been declared at Scarborough Hospital, as York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs both hospitals, responded to unprecedented demand.