Drop in visits to A&E at Barts Health last month

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

NHS England figures show 38,475 patients visited A&E at Barts Health NHS Trust in February.

That was a drop of 2% on the 39,184 visits recorded during January, but 51% more than the 25,487 patients seen in February 2021.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in February 2020, there were 40,087 visits to A&E at Barts Health.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 41% 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 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 Barts Health NHS Trust:

In February:

73% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

3,344 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 9% of patients

Of those, 361 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in January:

The median time to treatment was 56 minutes

Around 4% of patients left before being treated