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 26,809 patients visited A&E at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in March.

That was a rise of 38% on the 19,360 visits recorded during February, and 72% more than the 15,616 patients seen in March 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – in March 2020, there were 13,392 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 42% 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 19% compared to February, and 29% more than the 1.7 million seen during March 2021.

At Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust:

In March:

There were 351 booked appointments, down from 507 in February

76% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

1,379 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 5% of patients

Of those, seven were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

The median time to treatment was 66 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 4% of patients left before being treated