Two thirds of patients arriving by ambulance at Colchester General Hospital’s A&E are waiting in the vehicle for more than 15 minutes.

Only 31 per cent of handovers from April to July this year took place in the national target time.

In both June and July, there were about 50 cases where handovers took longer than 60 minutes.

It comes after the Gazette revealed hospital bosses called an urgent summit last month after unprecedented demand brought the department to a standstill.

Ambulance liaison officers will be located in the department 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to try to improve the issue.

Full story in today's Daily Gazette