ENGLAND’S most strained hospitals were seven times busier than the quietest ones at the end of last year, analysis reveals.

Research by Now Patient shows Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust had the highest number of packed A&E departments in the country in the final quarter of 2022.

More than 7,000 patients per 100,000 in the catchment area turned up at the trust's wards in Greater Manchester.

For comparison, fewer than 1,000 per 100,000 attended A&E's managed by Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in West Sussex.

Navin Khosla, a pharmacist at Now Patient, said: “City-based NHS trusts were unsurprisingly facing the most A&E visitors.

“But with the data broken down to visits per 100,000, these findings perhaps show the inability to cope with the demand of a broad demographic.

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“The general consensus is that larger NHS trusts are facing a battle to cope with staffing for critical care, whilst GP appointments and waiting times are proving a burden on hospital trusts nationwide.”

Northern Care Alliance was followed by Corydon Health Services NHS Trust in London, which had 6,845 per 100,000 during October, November and December.

The top five were capped off by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (6,607), Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust (6,561) and North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust (6,497).

Northern Care Alliance has over 20,000 staff to support the 1.3million people in its catchment area.

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In total, Barts Health NHS Trust saw the most patients over the period, with nearly 135,000 attending (3,810 per 100,000).

Mr Khosla said: “A&E visits across the last quarter of 2022 were on a steep incline and added strike action coupled with a vast shortage of staff across UK NHS trusts is leading to longer waiting times and an inability to carry out the services the NHS are there to provide. 

“Whilst there is strike action and continued pay disputes between NHS staff and the government, it is hard to see services return to the high standards that have been set in the past. 

“Inequalities in NHS provisions are constantly looked at, and there are multiple probes in place currently that are analysing patient care at various hospitals across the UK.”

The data includes A&E visits from December, when the first wave of NHS strikes started.

However, since then the health service has been further crippled by nurses, ambulance workers, cleaners, porters and now junior doctors taking action.

On the latest three-day strike by the British Medical Association, health bosses said hospitals are still facing huge demand, with even fewer staff to look after patients available.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “Emergency departments remained under severe pressure on Monday.

“While we are prioritising urgent and critical care, it's important to remember that GP surgeries and pharmacies are largely unaffected and that 111 online can help with many non-urgent needs.

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“Some hospitals even saw their busiest Monday of the year so far for A&E attendance as the strike got underway, which presents a major challenge as our staff continue to do all they can to mitigate the impact of the industrial action for patients.

"As we see the impact of the most significant strike disruption in the history of the NHS, we're really grateful to the public for using services appropriately.”

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