WAITING times for A&E are now being shared live.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has started sharing live information about waiting times with patients.

The new page on the trust’s website shows how many patients are currently waiting in A&E along with longest wait times that people may expect.

Nicola Costin-Davis, Chief Operating Officer, said: “By adding this information to our website, we are giving people in our communities the ability to view current waiting times in our A&E department so that they know what to expect during their visit as well as encouraging everyone to consider whether they could receive appropriate care at an urgent treatment centre, through their GP, or at a pharmacy.”

Mid Cheshire's emergency department is split across two sites, Leighton Hospital in Crewe and Victoria Infirmary in Northwich. 

As of 3pm on Friday (November 22), there are 79 patients across the two sites, with 15 of these having arrived in the last hour.

The waiting time at the minor injuries department, at Victoria infirmary Northwich, is 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, the longest expected wait time at Leighton Hospital’s A&E is three hours and 11 minutes.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals say that patients will be seen in order of ‘acuity’.

“Please remember that accident and emergency departments and 999 are for life-threatening emergencies and serious injuries,” reads the trust's website.

“No matter how busy accident and emergency is, the most seriously ill patients will always be seen first.”

If you need medical help, think you might need to go to A&E or aren’t sure which service is for you, call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk – available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To see the latest A&E waiting times, visit www.mcht.nhs.uk/edwaittimes.