Drop in visits to A&E at the Mid and South Essex Trust last month

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

NHS England figures show 32,239 patients visited A&E at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in August.

That was a drop of 4% on the 33,592 visits recorded during July, but 15% more than the 28,090 patients seen in August 2020.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in August 2019, there were 28,883 visits to A&E at the Mid and South Essex 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 8% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 2 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 6% compared to July, but 19% more than the 1.7 million seen during August 2020.

At Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust:

In August:

There were 868 booked appointments, down from 1,028 in July

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

1,010 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in July:

The median time to treatment was 75 minutes

Around 3% of patients left before being treated