West Hertfordshire hospitals met the NHS recovery target for the second month in a row as more than three-quarters of A&E arrivals were seen within four hours.

Last year, the government announced a two-year plan to stabilise NHS services which set a recovery target of 76% of patients within the time period by March this year, and 78 per cent by March 2025.

NHS England figures show that West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes Watford General, saw 79 per cent of the 16,318 people who who went to A&E within four hours in April.

It means the trust beat the increased recovery target but fell short of the pre-pandemic NHS standard of 95 per cent.

At trust hospitals, 842 patients waited longer than four hours, including one who was delayed by more than 12 hours.

The NHS missed the benchmark nationwide as just 74 per cent of patients were seen within four hours, in line with the month before.

About 2.2 million people attended A&E departments across England last month – the busiest April ever and 10 per cent higher than the same time in 2023.

The total visits to West Herts A&E departments also fell by 6 per cent on the 17,289 visits recorded in March, but 11 per cent more than the 14,755 patients seen in April 2023.