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 15,434 patients visited A&E at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust in February.

That was a drop of 3% on the 15,980 visits recorded during January, but 25% more than the 12,359 patients seen in February 2021.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in February 2020, there were 15,718 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 34% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.8 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 3% compared to January, but 43% more than the 1.3 million seen during February 2021.

At United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust:

In February:

There were 11 booked appointments, up from seven in January

61% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

2,026 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 13% of patients

Of those, 637 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in January:

The median time to treatment was 54 minutes

Around 4% of patients left before being treated