Drop in visits to A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 15,629 patients visited A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in October.

That was a drop of 1% on the 15,724 visits recorded during September, but 29% more than the 12,151 patients seen in October 2020.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in October 2019, there were 10,627 visits to A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 35% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 2% compared to September, and 36% more than the 1.6 million seen during October 2020.

At St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust:

In October:

There were 174 booked appointments, up from 168 in September

67% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

333 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

The median time to treatment was 105 minutes

Around 8% of patients left before being treated