Fewer patients visited A&E at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust last month – and attendances were lower than in October last year, figures reveal.
NHS England figures show 16,172 patients visited A&E at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in October.
That was a drop of 7% on the 17,299 visits recorded during September, and 22% lower than the 20,811 patients seen by the trust's two predecessors in October the previous year.
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The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 21% were via minor injury units.
Across England, A&E departments received 1.6 million visits last month.
That was a decrease of 6% compared to September, and 26% fewer than the 2.2 million seen during October 2019.
The NHS said the drop in attendances nationally is "likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response".
At Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust:
In October:
- There were 527 booked appointments, down from 572 in September
- 77 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit.
Separate data reveals that in September:
- The median time to treatment was 49 minutes
- Around 2% of patients left before being treated