Rise in visits to A&E at the Northern Care Alliance Trust last month

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

NHS England figures show 30,822 patients visited A&E at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in October.

That was a rise of 4% on the 29,509 visits recorded during September, but 5% lower than the 32,279 patients seen by the trust's two predecessors in October 2020.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in October 2019, there were 49,122 visits to A&E at the Northern Care Alliance 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 17% were via minor injury units.

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

That was an increase of 2% compared to September, and 36% more than the 1.6 million seen during October 2020.

At Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust:

In October:

63% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

1,437 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Of those, 433 were delayed by more than 12 hours