MORE patients visited A&E at the Yeovil District Hospital last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 5,677 patients visited A&E at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in September.

That was a rise of 3 per cent on the 5,513 visits recorded during August, and 7 per cent more than the 5,296 patients seen in September 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in September 2020, there were 4,574 visits to A&E departments run by the Yeovil District Hospital.

All of last month's attendances were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.

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

That was a rise of less than 1 per cent compared to August, but 6 per cent fewer than the 2.1 million seen during September 2021.

At Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:

In September:
• 72 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent

• 138 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 2 per cent of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in August:

• The median time to treatment was 61 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

• Around 3 per cent of patients left before being treated

A spokesperson for Yeovil Hospital said: “Staff at our emergency department (A&E) work exceptionally hard to see and treat our patients as quickly as possible and provide them with the support that they need.

“Like many other hospitals, we are seeing more patients than ever before, particularly through our emergency department. Alongside this, we continue to experience difficulties in discharging patients from hospital to their usual home setting due to challenges in social care.

“This means our inpatient wards are often full, which has a knock-on effect on our emergency department, leading to longer waiting times for patients. We are very sorry to anyone who has waited to be seen - our staff are doing their very best for you.

“This includes working closely with our health and social care partners to develop and expand alternative services that give people support in the community to prevent them from needing to come to hospital or support them to leave hospital when they are well enough.

“Please think carefully about where to go for advice and treatment. You may want to call NHS 111, visit your local pharmacist or consider using one of Somerset’s minor injuries units.”

Written by Katie Williams, data reporter