A drop in visits to A&E at Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals last month

NHS England figures show 12,399 patients visited A&E at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust hospitals in October.

That was a one per cent drop on the 12,539 visits recorded the previous month, and 14 per cent lower than the 14,465 patients seen in October the previous year.

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

The NHS said the drop in attendances is “likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response” deterring non-urgent patients to avoid visiting already busy hospitals as clinicians continue to prioritise Covid patients, cancer treatment and other more urgent cases. The NHS has also advised people to contact their GP or go online to NHS 111 in the first instance to see if some more minor matters can be dealt with away from A&E departments to relieve pressure.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.6 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of six per cent compared to September, and 26 per cent fewer than the 2.2 million seen during October 2019. Patients have become more aware of not adding to the pressure on NHS staff, as well as anxieties about potentially catching Covid while at the hospital.

At North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust in October, only seventy-eight per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent. That equated to 454 patients waiting longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit. Of those, two were delayed by more than 12 hours.

Separate data reveals that in September the median average time to treatment was 89 minutes.