PERFORMANCE: Thirty-eight of the trust’s performance measures were worse than they were in November.

Of the 62 indicators, five stayed constant, 19 improved and rest were recorded as “getting worse”.

The trust said bad weather and the short working month were the “main causes” of the downturn, which saw deterioration in the 18-week referral to treatment time target, workforce and financial measures.

The MRSA target for the year of four was also breached.