Rise in visits to A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust

More patients visited A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 28,414 patients visited A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in October.

That was a rise of 16% on the 24,420 visits recorded during September, and 25% more than the 22,645 patients seen in October 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in October 2020, there were 13,833 visits to A&E departments run by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust.

​The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care​ – while 38% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 4% were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 9% compared to September, and a similar number as were seen during October 2021.

At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust:

In October:

There were 1,152 booked appointments, up from 870 in September

73% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

1,812 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 6% of patients

Of those, 32 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

The median time to treatment was 68 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 7% of patients left before being treated