Drop in visits to A&E at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Trust last month

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

NHS England figures show 14,765 patients visited A&E at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in October.

That was a drop of 2% on the 15,100 visits recorded during September, but 37% more than the 10,779 patients seen in October 2020.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in October 2019, there were 14,658 visits to A&E at Epsom and St Helier 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 1% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 2% 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 2% compared to September, and 36% more than the 1.6 million seen during October 2020.

At Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust:

In October:

There were 1,084 booked appointments, down from 1,112 in September

80% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

721 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Of those, 40 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

The median time to treatment was 140 minutes