FOUR-hour A&E treatment targets should only apply to the sickest patients, the Health Minister has said - as Broomfield Hospital’s latest figures revealed it missed the benchmark.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has suggested four-hour targets should be relaxed and not apply to non-urgent cases.

hMr Hunt told the Commons there was a need to “protect” the target for the most serious cases, with people who turn up to A&E inappropriately sent elsewhere for care.

His comments appeared to suggest he planned to water down the target, which applies to all patients going through A&E.

Mr Hunt said: “It is clear that we need to have an honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments. There is nowhere outside the UK that commits to all patients that we will sort out any health need within four hours.”

The national target is for 95 per cent of patients to spend four hours or less from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge in A&E.

The Mid Essex Hospital Services Trust, saw 7,393 patients in November attend its Broomfield Hospital A&E in Chelmsford - with 83.7 per cent being discharged, admitted or transferred within four hours - an improvement on October (80.7 per cent).

Broomfield Hospital has repeatedly been on black and critical incident alerts in recent months, when a surge in numbers being treated in emergency departments and bed shortages stopped admissions to wards from A&E.

A spokesman for the hospital said: “The Christmas and New Year period is traditionally a busy time for all hospitals, but this year has seen unprecedented numbers of patients coming through the emergency department, which is still continuing. The NHS is facing record levels of demand.

“With an ever-growing elderly population and pressures on primary and social care, and difficulties in getting GP appointments, hospital A&E departments are visible for always being open.

“During this extremely busy period, our staff have been magnificent, going over and above the usual day-to-day working to ensure all our patients are being cared for.”

She also reminded residents A&E is for patients with serious injuries or illnesses, or for life-threatening emergencies, and urged people to keep it available for those who need it.

Across the country, targets, which were rarely missed in 2010, are now routinely not met. Most hospitals have not hit the national target since summer 2015.