NEW figures have shown Dorset County Hospital is falling behind the average accident and emergency department waiting times.

The hospital has been delivering award-winning patient care, but figures are showing the hospital has been slowly falling behind over the winter months.

Dorset County Hospital said illnesses such as flu and norovirus have been taking a toll on its resources.

According to the 2014/2015 statistics based on weekly performance, this week only 85.2 per cent of patients have been seen within the four hour national target, amounting to 121 people a week, against a national target of 95 per cent.

Dorset County Hospital is one of 109 major hospital trusts in the country to miss the target against 31 hospitals to surpass it.

However, the Dorchester hospital has met a number other targets.

Patient governor for Weymouth and Portland Michel Hooper-Immins said that the figures were just a ‘minor blip’ as a result of the winter months when the NHS staff are under pressure to deal with sick patients.

He said: “We needn’t take these statistics too literally. We know very well that the A&E department is running very well.”

The hospital achieved the top score nationally in an accident and emergency survey carried out by the Care Quality Commission last December.

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin said: “Although this is obviously disappointing news, the staff at DCH have done a fantastic job through a very difficult winter, and I’m sure the A&E figure will return soon to the levels they have been achieving in past months.”

A spokesman for Dorset County Hospital said: “We have been extremely busy over the winter period and still have a high number of acutely ill patients being admitted to hospital via our Emergency Department.

“We are really proud of how hard our staff have worked to ensure all our patients’ care needs are met during such a challenging period.”