THE Government target of dealing with the vast majority of patients within four hours can be a little arbitrary because there will always be different pressures on different accident and emergency departments on different days.

The sharp rise in people being seen with just seconds to spare before that four-hour deadline at our hospitals is hopefully only a statistical quirk rather than a rigging of the schedule to hit Government targets.

At the end of the day, every A&E department has to work on the basis of those most in need being treated first and fastest.