North Cumbria hospitals' A&E units – including the West Cumberland Hospital – are in the country's top third for emergency care.

The trust is ranked as 44th out of 138 in England for Accident & Emergency performance at the West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven, and the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.

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

While the national average for all trusts in August was 85.4 per cent, the trust’s overall performance was 90.6 per cent.

Almost 8,000 people attended the trust’s two A&E departments in August.

Commenting on the latest figures, Stephen Eames, chief executive at North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, said: “I am very pleased that we are consistently performing above the national average against the emergency care standard which is a real testament to the hard work of our staff who are committed to providing patients with timely access to quality care.

“I would like to say thank you to all of our staff at both hospital sites as it is important to highlight that this standard can only be met when our teams work together across all of our wards and departments.

He added: “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.

"While we are delighted to remain above the national average, we will continue to strive to hit the 95 per cent standard.”