Drop in visits to A&E at the Dartford and Gravesham Trust last month

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

NHS England figures show 11,879 patients visited A&E at Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust in February.

That was a drop of 5% on the 12,462 visits recorded during January, but 51% more than the 7,888 patients seen in February 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in February 2020, there were 10,975 visits to A&E at the Dartford and Gravesham Trust.

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 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 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust:

In February:

There were three booked appointments, up from two in January

81% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

433 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 4% of patients

Of those, one was delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in January:

The median time to treatment was 35 minutes