Drop in visits to A&E at Gateshead Health last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at Gateshead Health last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 7,257 patients visited A&E at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust in February.

That was a drop of 9% on the 7,944 visits recorded during January, but 39% more than the 5,224 patients seen in February 2021.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in February 2020, there were 9,628 visits to A&E at Gateshead Health.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 37% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.8 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 3% compared to January, but 43% more than the 1.3 million seen during February 2021.

At Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust:

In February:

There were 30 booked appointments, down from 44 in January

76% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

815 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 11% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in January:

The median time to treatment was 56 minutes

Around 4% of patients left before being treated