More than 1,000 extra people attended Worcestershire A&E units this July, compared with 2017 – which health bosses said was an "unprecedented summer surge" due to the heatwave.

NHS England figures show that 18,240 people attended Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust’s emergency departments last month, 1,454 more than in July 2017. Attendances in June were also higher than usual, with 17,103 patients arriving at A&E.

Nationally, record numbers of people flooded to emergency departments in July, with respiratory problems, dehydration and other illnesses associated with the hot weather.

Across England almost 2.2 million patients attended A&E in July, 100,000 more patients than the same month in 2017, with emergency admissions also rising by 6.3 per cent. This included patients visiting minor injury units and walk in centres, which are grouped with A&E departments.

An NHS England spokesman said: “As temperatures soared, the NHS saw an unprecedented summer surge last month with a record 2.2 million patients attending A&E, and, thanks to the hard work of staff, nine in 10 people were seen, treated and admitted or discharged within four hours."

At Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust – which runs the Royal Hospital in Worcester, Alexandra Hospital in Redditch and Kidderminster Hospital – 78 per cent of people were seen, treated and admitted or discharged within the four hour target period.

That's down on July 2017 when 82.4 per cent were dealt with in four hours. Hospitals are supposed to admit or discharge 95 per cent of patients within the target time. Three years ago 88.4 per cent were seen within four hours.

Nick Scriven, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the increased admissions during the heatwave had given staff no respite from the pressures and stresses of winter.

"What is of particular concern now, however, is that the summer months are traditionally the time acute hospitals and frontline staff have to recharge the batteries – this year we have had no respite and draining conditions," he explained.

"Last year NHS leaders admitted it took until October to recover from winter 2017 and we are now only a few months away from the next onslaught."