FEWER patients visited A&E at the Mid and South Essex Trust last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 31,318 patients visited A&E at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in April.

That was a drop of eight per cent on the 33,871 visits recorded during March, but three per cent more than the 30,528 patients seen in April 2021.

Attendances were well above the levels seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – in April 2020, there were 15,489 visits to A&E at sites run by the Mid and South Essex Trust.

The majority of attendances last month were at major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while seven per cent were at minor injury units.

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

That was a decrease of seven per cent compared to March, but nine per cent more than the 1.9 million seen during April 2021.

At Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in April:

• There were 1,214 booked appointments, up from 990 in March.

• Just 67 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent.

• 2,653 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – eight per cent of patients.

• Of those, 17 were delayed by more than 12 hours.