Fewer patients visited A&E at the Somerset Trust last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.
NHS England figures show 15,048 patients visited A&E at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in October.
That was a drop of 1% on the 15,236 visits recorded during September, but 1% more than the 14,877 patients seen in October 2021.
The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in October 2020, there were 11,326 visits to A&E departments run by the Somerset Trust.
The majority of attendances last month were via minor A&E departments – those which treat minor injuries and illnesses such as fractures, cuts and bruises – while 45% were via major departments, with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.
Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month.
That was an increase of 9% compared to September, and a similar number as were seen during October 2021.
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust:
In October:
- There were four booked appointments, up from two in September
- 73% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
- 747 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 5% of patients
- Of those, 177 were delayed by more than 12 hours
Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:
- The median time to treatment was 68 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
- Around 3% of patients left before being treated