Drop in visits to A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 21,505 patients visited A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in August.

That was a drop of 8% on the 23,490 visits recorded during July, but 42% more than the 15,099 patients seen in August 2020.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in August 2019, there were 17,657 visits to A&E at 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 32% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 6% were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

Across England, A&E departments received 2 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 6% compared to July, but 19% more than the 1.7 million seen during August 2020.

At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust:

In August:

There were 419 booked appointments, up from 375 in July

75% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

1,009 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Of those, five were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in July:

The median time to treatment was 50 minutes

Around 6% of patients left before being treated