Progress is being made in north Cumbria's accident and emergency departments - but it is still not hitting national targets.

The issue of A&E waiting times is one affecting most hospitals in England.

The efforts of staff at Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary and the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven have seen the north Cumbria hospital trust ranked 31st out of 138 trusts.

The national standard is for 95 per cent of patients to be seen, treated, admitted or discharged from A&E in under four hours.

In June, the national average for trusts was 86.1 per cent, and in July it was 85.5 per cent.

North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust saw its overall performance stand at 92.6 per cent in June and 93.2 per cent in July. While short of the 95 per cent target, it was well above the average.

Helen Ray, chief operating officer at the trust, said: "I would like to say ‘well done’ and ‘thank you’ to our staff.

"Our continually-improving national ranking is a real testament to the hard work our teams put in day in, day out in order to provide patients at both of our hospital sites with timely access to care.

“As always, the most important message to take from this is remembering that behind these figures are our patients and local communities who rely on us to provide them with the high standards of care they deserve.

"I am delighted to be able to share the news today that our continued focus on improvement is resulting in great progress and we will continue to strive towards hitting the 95 per cent standard.”