Fewer patients visited A&E at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.
NHS England figures show 10,604 patients visited A&E at North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust’s hospitals in September.
That was a drop of two per cent on the 10,851 visits recorded during August, but 28 per cent more than the 8,298 patients seen in September 2020.
The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in September 2019, there were 10,083 visits to A&E at the North Cumbria Integrated Care 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 17 per cent were via minor injury units.
Across England, A&E departments received 2.1 million visits last month.
That was an increase of four per cent compared to August, and 26 per cent more than the 1.7 million seen during September 2020.
At North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust:
In September
- There were 228 booked appointments, up from 208 in August
- 75 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
- 720 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit
- Of those, 14 were delayed by more than 12 hours
Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in August:
- The median time to treatment was 80 minutes
- Around four per cent of patients left before being treated
