Drop in visits to A&E at Bridgewater Community Healthcare last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at Bridgewater Community Healthcare last month – but attendances were far higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 5,218 patients visited A&E at Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in October.

That was a drop of 1% on the 5,290 visits recorded during September, but nearly double the 2,641 patients seen in October 2020.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in October 2019, there were 8,523 visits to A&E at Bridgewater Community Healthcare.

All of last month's attendances were via minor A&E departments – those which treat minor injuries and illnesses such as fractures, cuts and bruises.

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

That was an increase of 2% compared to September, and 36% more than the 1.6 million seen during October 2020.

At Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust:

In October:

There were 34 booked appointments, down from 59 in September

98% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

The median time to treatment was 24 minutes

Around 16% of patients left before being treated