Drop in visits to A&E at the South Tyneside and Sunderland Trust last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at the South Tyneside and Sunderland Trust last month – and attendances were lower than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 18,516 patients visited A&E at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust in September.

That was a drop of 3% on the 19,041 visits recorded during August, and 11% lower than the 20,860 patients seen in September 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in September 2020, there were 16,238 visits to A&E departments run by the South Tyneside and Sunderland 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 32% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 6% were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

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

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

At South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust:

In September:

There were 533 booked appointments, down from 657 in August

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

482 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 3% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in August:

The median time to treatment was 65 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 4% of patients left before being treated