York Hospital has revealed its emergency department had its busiest ever day when York was coated by black ice just before Christmas.

Now officials are being urged to provide detailed statistics when snow and ice hit York in future, so that City of York Council can identify and prioritise problem locations for gritting.

Pedestrians and cyclists faced a nightmare journey into work on “black ice Monday”, December 19, when rain fell on freezing pavements and cycle paths, turning much of the city into an unofficial skating rink.

Many victims were able to get back on their feet unharmed, but Mandy McGale, associate director of operations at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said it was the emergency department’s busiest ever day, mainly because of people attending with injuries caused by slipping on the ice. The Trust did not say how many patients it treated on that day when asked by The Press.

Green councillor Andy D’Agorne said he discovered how dangerous it was that day when he went round to the area near the Millennium Bridge to do some gritting at about 9am and it was still treacherous.

He said: “In the space of five minutes, I witnessed two cyclists sliding onto the ground in separate incidents.

“Key slopes such as the one from the riverside path up to Hospital Fields Road had not been treated – nowhere had.”

He said it seemed York Hospital’s casualty department did not even record whether or not a fall was caused by slipping on ice, never mind where the accident happened.

“I have suggested that an analysis of such information is crucial if City of York Council is to learn from the experience of the icy mornings we had recently and aim to minimise the injuries when we have similar freezing rain or early morning frost conditions.”

Ms McVale said the hospital would welcome the opportunity to work with the council on this issue.