Rise in visits to A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital

More patients visited A&E at Alder Hey Children's Hospital last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 6,339 patients visited A&E at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust in March.

That was a rise of 27% on the 5,008 visits recorded during February, and 28% more than the 4,967 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 3,954 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 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 Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust:

In March:

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

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

The median time to treatment was 102 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times