PERFORMANCE: Performance against the four hour accident and emergency target has been languishing below 90 per cent for two consecutive quarters in Portsmouth.

Clinical commissioning group board papers for April showed that, against the standard for 95 per cent of patients to be admitted or discharged within four hours, the figure for quarter four was 89.3 per cent.

This followed 87 per cent in quarter three.

Performance for March was 92.2 per cent, and the area fell short of a local target to hit the 95 per cent standard by the middle of the month.

Board papers said: “The majority of breaches occur in the out of hours periods and/or are linked to backlogs created by high volumes of demand in the evenings and at weekends.”

A local plan has been agreed to improve performance.