VISITS to York Hospital’s A&E increased by seven per cent over Christmas and New Year.

Nationally, the NHS winter figures have been described as encouraging, but the NHS Confederation said the “toughest days may well come later”.

A spokeswoman for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said patient numbers visiting emergency departments “continues to rise year on year”. As well as the seven per cent increase to A&E compared to last year, hospitals within the trust also saw “a six per cent rise in unplanned admissions of very poorly people”, mainly with flu and respiratory illnesses.

She said: “The trust has a very detailed winter plan which aims to put additional capacity in place during our forecast busiest periods and York Hospital is currently coping well despite the challenging circumstances. We would like to thank our staff for their continued hard work and commitment to our patients under increased pressure.

“As we progress through the winter months and predictably busier period, we would urge the public to help us by thinking about using alternatives such as NHS 111 if they are unsure about whether they should be going to their local emergency department.”

Danny Mortimer, deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said the health service had “delivered significant improvements on last year’s performance”. He said: “The NHS is not yet in the clear as the toughest days often come later in the winter when severe cold weather, flu and norovirus can strike. We have yet to experience the same pressure as last year but it’s clear the NHS is in better shape this winter to respond. This is a tribute to the hard work of staff and the robust planning that has gone into preparing front-line services for this winter.”

Mr Mortimer said ambulance delays and bed occupancy rates were both down, and fewer A&E departments had been forced to divert patients.

He said: “This is very encouraging but our members tell us that the toughest days may well come later in the winter so they will be prepared for this.”

The York Hospital spokeswoman said no wards in the city had to be closed due to norovirus over the festive period.