More patients visited A&E at Plymouth Hospitals Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.
NHS England figures show 12,485 patients visited A&E at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust in December.
That was a rise of 6% on the 11,821 visits recorded during November, and 20% more than the 10,364 patients seen in December 2021.
The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in December 2020, there were 9,920 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 31% 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 2.3 million visits last month.
That was an increase of 5% compared to November, and 22% more than the 1.9 million seen during December 2021.
At University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust:
In December:
- There was one booked appointment, up from none in November
- 1,316 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 11% of patients
- Of those, 989 were delayed by more than 12 hours
Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in October:
- The median time to treatment was 28 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
- Around 7% of patients left before being treated