Drop in visits to A&E at East Kent University Hospitals Trust last month

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

NHS England figures show 23,633 patients visited A&E at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust in June.

That was a drop of 3% on the 24,295 visits recorded during May, but 2% more than the 23,208 patients seen in June 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic – in June 2020, there were 15,320 visits to A&E departments run by East Kent University Hospitals 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 24% were via minor injury units.

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

That was in line with May, and the same number as were seen during June 2021.

At East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust:

In June:

There were 112 booked appointments, down from 188 in May

69% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

1,761 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 7% of patients

Of those, 548 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in May:

Around 4% of patients left before being treated