Drop in visits to A&E at United Lincolnshire Hospitals last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at United Lincolnshire Hospitals last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 17,278 patients visited A&E at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust in September.

That was a slight drop from the 17,326 visits recorded during August, but 8% more than the 15,955 patients seen in September 2020.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in September 2019, there were 15,031 visits to A&E at United Lincolnshire 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 2.1 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 4% compared to August, and 26% more than the 1.7 million seen during September 2020.

At United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust:

In September:

There were 26 booked appointments, from 26 in August

62% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

2,101 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Of those, 71 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in August:

The median time to treatment was 51 minutes

Around 5% of patients left before being treated