More patients visited A&E at the Wye Valley Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year, writes Radar data reporter Katie Williams.

NHS England figures show 6,062 patients visited A&E at Wye Valley NHS Trust in March.

That was a rise of 14% on the 5,302 visits recorded during February, and 19% more than the 5,099 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 4,079 visits to A&E at the Wye Valley Trust.

All of last month’s attendances were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.

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 Wye Valley NHS Trust:

In March:

  • There were 132 booked appointments, down from 148 in February
  • 60% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
  • 566 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 9% of patients
  • Of those, 390 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

  • The median time to treatment was 41 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • Around 3% of patients left before being treated