Drop in visits to A&E at Bedfordshire Hospitals Trust last month

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.

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