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 13,750 patients visited A&E at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in January.

That was a drop of 3% on the 14,111 visits recorded during December, but 20% more than the 11,425 patients seen in January 2021.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in January 2020, there were 14,597 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 33% were via minor injury units.

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 St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust:

In January:

There were 174 booked appointments, up from 159 in December

69% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

317 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 2% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in December:

The median time to treatment was 78 minutes

Around 6% of patients left before being treated