Rise in visits to A&E at Imperial College Healthcare

More patients visited A&E at Imperial College Healthcare last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 23,266 patients visited A&E at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in March.

That was a rise of 11% on the 20,898 visits recorded during February, and 21% more than the 19,283 patients seen in March 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – in March 2020, there were 16,616 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 30% 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 2.2 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 19% compared to February, and 29% more than the 1.7 million seen during March 2021.

At Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust:

In March:

1,703 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 7% of patients

Of those, 170 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

The median time to treatment was 54 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 7% of patients left before being treated