A Colchester Hospital has defended discharging some patients overnight.

Around 100 Colchester General Hospital patients a month are sent home after 11pm it has been revealed.

Dr Gordon Coutts, chief executive of Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, said this was lower than many neighbouring hospitals.

And that some patients, such as children seeing by paediatricians, were discharged to go home with their families.

He added: “It is hard to interpret properly unless you know every individual incident.”