Ipswich Hospital has hit its target for A&E waiting times for the fifth quarter in a row.

The news comes as NHS England statistics show national waiting times have fallen to their worst level in a decade.

A&E departments have a target of seeing 95% of patients within four hours of arrival, but for the most recent statistics covering October to December show the national average was just 92.6%.

However the figures for Ipswich Hospital period show it saw 95.7% of the 19,410 patients who went to A&E in that period.

Suffolk’s other major A&E department at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds showed it fell just below the target, 93.5% of attendees being seen within four hours.

Colchester Hospital however had the eighth worst percentage in the country, just 83.4% of people being seen within the target time.

In November last year the Essex hospital declared a major incident as its staff struggled to cope with unprecedented demand.