More patients visited A&E at the Somerset Trust last month – but attendances were lower than over the same period last year, figures reveal.
NHS England figures show 16,474 patients visited A&E at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in July.
That was a slight rise from the 16,457 visits recorded during June, but 1% lower than the 16,640 patients seen in July 2021.
The figures show attendances were above the levels seen in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic – in July 2020, there were 12,490 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 43% 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 a decrease of 1% compared to June, and the same number as were seen during July 2021.
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust:
In July:
- There were one booked appointments, down from three in June
- 76% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
- 542 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 3% of patients
- Of those, 66 were delayed by more than 12 hours
Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in June:
- The median time to treatment was 73 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