HUNDREDS of people are waiting hours before being seen in the area's accident and emergency department as the NHS endures the most severe winter pressures it has ever seen.

Shocking new figures released today by NHS England paint a picture of a health system in chaos nationwide as the volume of people who need hospital care rockets. 

It has prompted senior figures within the trust that runs Barrow's Furness General Hospital to urge people to attend the Dalton Lane emergency department only if they are suffering a life threatening or serious illness or injury. 

The latest data reveals the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust saw 86.6 per cent of people arriving through the doors of its packed A&E department within four hours in January - placing it within the majority of acute trusts across the country that missed the national target of 95 per cent for the month. 

Accident and Emergency departments in the north of Cumbria fared even worse, with just 79.5 per cent of people seen within the required four hour window. 

The figures contribute to the worst performance seen for the NHS overall since the monthly reports began in 2004. 

Foluke Ajayi, UHMBT's chief operating officer, said: "As with the majority of hospitals across the country, our

emergency departments at both FGH and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary have experienced increased pressure over the last few months.

"When there is an increase in the number of people who attend an emergency department or need admitting to one of our wards, this can impact on the time for patients to be seen, treated and either discharged or admitted. 

"When this happens, patients are likely to experience long waiting times while our doctors and nurses treat those who need urgent treatment first. 

"We understand this may be an inconvenience to those who have to wait longer, but we are sure they understand that we have to see those patients who are very poorly first."

There were 3,476 admissions to UHMBT's hospitals in total during January, with 2,340 classed as an emergency. 

Of these, three waited on a trolley for more than 12 hours while medics searched for an available bed. 

Some 331 more waited longer than four hours for a place on a ward to be found. 

The pressure is also having a knock-on effect on other areas of the hospital's work, with targets for treating people within recommended timeframes being stretched and levels of bed blocking - where people remain in hospital longer than necessary - at an all-time high. 

Last month the Evening Mail revealed clinical staff within FGH were taking an innovative approach to the increased pressure on its services after it set up a command centre to monitor patient numbers four times a day. 

And new electronic signs had also been installed outside of the emergency department to clearly display waiting times for patients as they arrived on site.

Ms Ajayi added: "The public can help us at times like these by making sure they use the right service for their needs.

"There are many different options available to people when they feel unwell, including self-care, local pharmacies and GPs.

"An emergency is a serious or life-threatening situation, such as a suspected heart attack, loss of consciousness, breathing difficulties, chest pain, head injuries or severe bleeding that cannot be stopped."