Rise in visits to A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals

More patients visited A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 15,757 patients visited A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in March.

That was a rise of 19% on the 13,259 visits recorded during February, and 9% more than the 14,421 patients seen in March 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – in March 2020, there were 11,019 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 34% were via minor injury units.

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

That was an increase of 19% compared to February, and 29% more than the 1.7 million seen during March 2021.

At St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust:

In March:

There were 162 booked appointments, down from 168 in February

64% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

406 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 3% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

The median time to treatment was 94 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 7% of patients left before being treated