Rise in visits to A&E at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

More patients visited A&E at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 30,214 patients visited A&E at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in March.

That was a rise of 21% on the 24,999 visits recorded during February, and 40% more than the 21,538 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 18,718 visits to A&E at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 33% were via minor injury units.

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 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:

In March:

There were 661 booked appointments, up from 613 in February

895 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 3% of patients

Of those, 10 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

The median time to treatment was 78 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 5% of patients left before being treated