Extra demand has impacted waiting times at Croydon University Hospital.

The trust which runs the hospital in Mayday Road said that nearly 100 more people a day are cared for by emergency teams than last year.

Despite this, waiting times are improving month on month according to the trust.

In September 85.8 per cent of patients waited less than four hours in A&E, similar to the average across the country of 85.3 per cent in the same month.

This is equivalent to 2,718 people who had to wait more than four hours to be seen.

In September 2018, 87 per cent of patients were seen within four hours, this was one per cent below the average across the country at the time.

The NHS target is to see 95 per cent of patients within the four hour time limit.

Dr Kathryn Channing, lead clinician for the emergency department at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said: “Our busy emergency teams care for almost 100 more people every day than we did a year ago. Despite this extra demand, our four-hour waiting times improved every month since March.

“We are now seeing 85.8 per cent of our emergency patients within four hours, compared to 84.1 per cent in March. This is slightly above London’s average but is not yet where we want to be.

“To keep improving we have taken a range of measures to ease the flow of patient care throughout the hospital. We are also working closely with our partner organisations in the borough to help more people get the care they need closer to home and help our teams care for critically-ill and emergency patients.”

Dr Channing added that with winter coming the trust encourages patients with simpler ailments and minor injuries to make use of three GP hubs in Croydon which are open from 8am-8pm daily.