Drop in visits to A&E at Imperial College Healthcare last month

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

NHS England figures show 20,898 patients visited A&E at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in February.

That was a drop of 4% on the 21,691 visits recorded during January, but 40% more than the 14,906 patients seen in February 2021.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in February 2020, there were 23,154 visits to A&E at Imperial College Healthcare.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 27% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 16% were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

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 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust:

In February:

1,393 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 7% of patients

Of those, 146 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in January:

The median time to treatment was 52 minutes

Around 7% of patients left before being treated