Drop in visits to A&E at Royal United Hospitals Bath last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at Royal United Hospitals Bath last month – and attendances were lower than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 7,530 patients visited A&E at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust in August.

That was a drop of 6% on the 7,994 visits recorded during July, and 2% lower than the 7,697 patients seen in August 2020.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in August 2019, there were 7,422 visits to A&E at Royal United Hospitals Bath.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 10% were via minor injury units.

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

That was a decrease of 6% compared to July, but 19% more than the 1.7 million seen during August 2020.

At Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust:

In August:

There were 203 booked appointments, down from 281 in July

71% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

361 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in July:

The median time to treatment was 113 minutes

Around 8% of patients left before being treated