Airedale Hospital’s chief executive said she wanted to publicly apologise to patients affected by delays in Accident & Emergency.

Bridget Fletcher, speaking at the latest meeting of the hospital’s board of directors, conceded the pressures placed on the department meant its performance had not been good during the first quarter of this year. “We’ve not been able to deliver the level of service that we’d like,” she said.

In April, the hospital’s A&E failed the benchmark of seeing and treating 95 per cent of patients within four hours, with 93.6 per cent of its patients dealt with within this time limit.

The chief executive’s report to the meeting said the ongoing demand on Airedale meant it has had to cancel a number of routine operations.