Drop in visits to A&E at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 9,147 patients visited A&E at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust in August.

That was a drop of 10% on the 10,181 visits recorded during July, but 3% more than the 8,861 patients seen in August 2020.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in August 2019, there were 10,172 visits to A&E at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 22% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 2 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 6% compared to July, but 19% more than the 1.7 million seen during August 2020.

At Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust:

In August:

77% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

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

Of those, 14 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in July:

The median time to treatment was 97 minutes

Around 7% of patients left before being treated