More patients visited A&E at Plymouth Hospitals Trust last month – but attendances were lower than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 12,240 patients visited A&E at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in July.

That was a rise of 2% on the 11,998 visits recorded during June, but 3% lower than the 12,677 patients seen in July 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic – in July 2020, there were 11,797 visits to A&E departments run by Plymouth 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 35% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 1% 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 a decrease of 1% compared to June, and the same number as were seen during July 2021.

At University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust:

In July:

  • There were 114 booked appointments, down from 127 in June
  • 1,093 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 9% of patients
  • Of those, 637 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in June:

  • The median time to treatment was 48 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • Around 8% of patients left before being treated