MORE patients visited A&E at Warrington and Halton Hospitals Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen in March last year.

NHS England figures show 8,736 patients visited accident and emergency in March.

That was a rise of 30 per cent on the 6,707 visits recorded during February, and 19 per cent more than the 7,342 patients seen in March the previous year.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 22 per cent were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.7 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 32% compared to February, and 10% more than the 1.5 million seen during March 2020.

At Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust:

In March:

  • There were 383 booked appointments, up from 364 in February
  • 80% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
  • 980 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit
  • Of those, one was delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate data reveals that in February:

  • The median time to treatment was 61 minutes
  • Around 4% of patients left before being treated