More than 1,300 people waited in excess of 12 hours to be moved from emergency departments into hospital beds in the first two months of 2022, new figures have revealed.

The startling figure, which is split across the three main hospitals, is almost 1,000 more than suffered the same fate a five year period previously.

In the five years between January 2016 and December 2020, the region's three hospitals had 341 12-hour trolley breaches - the wait between arriving at A&E and being moved onto a ward.

In the first two months of 2022, there were 1,310 of these cases - 661 at the James Paget in Gorleston, 560 at the Norfolk and Norwich and 89 at the Queen Elizabeth in King's Lynn.

The figures emphasise the continued pressures on emergency departments across the county, at a time when people have attended A&E in their tens of thousands.

As well as high demand, experts say healthcare staff absences - including those linked to Covid isolation - and the virus itself, plus associated challenges in the care sector which makes it harder to discharge some patients, have all contributed to the problems.

In February there were 28,373 admissions to the county's three emergency departments in total - 15,987 at the NNUH, 6,324 at the JPH and 6,062 at the QEH.

While this figure is considerably below the 34,000 record high set in July 2021, it eclipses the number of admissions in the past two Februarys before it. In February 2021 there were 19,076 admissions and February 2020 saw 23,012.

The Queen Elizabeth also saw a record-high number of patients experiencing waits of longer than the four hour target hospitals work towards.

At the King's Lynn hospital, 1,431 of the patients admitted waited more than four hours for a ward bed - a new high for the hospital.

A spokesperson for the NHS in Norfolk and Waveney said: “Our health and care system continues to experience high levels of demand and emergency department staff are working closely with NHS colleagues and the ambulance service to make sure patients are seen as quickly as possible.

“Emergency departments are open 24/7 for life-threatening emergencies.

"Patients can help by choosing the right service for their health and care needs. For non-life-threatening emergencies, people can book an appointment with their GP, visit a local pharmacy, attend a minor injuries unit or walk in centre. They can contact also NHS 111 online or by phone if they need medical advice or not sure which service to access."