Drop in visits to A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital last month

General view of an Accident and Emergency Sign at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Fewer patients visited A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 4,999 patients visited A&E at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust in January.

That was a drop of 2% on the 5,101 visits recorded during December, but 63% more than the 3,064 patients seen in January 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in January 2020, there were 4,752 visits to A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

All of last month's attendances were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.9 million visits last month.

That was in line with December, but 43% more than the 1.3 million seen during January 2021.

At Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust:

In January:

80% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in December:

The median time to treatment was 87 minutes