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

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

NHS England figures show 20,301 patients visited A&E at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust in October.

That was a rise of 10% on the 18,516 visits recorded during September, but 5% lower than the 21,284 patients seen in October 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in October 2020, there were 15,433 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 2.2 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 9% compared to September, and a similar number as were seen during October 2021.

At South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust:

In October:

There were 582 booked appointments, up from 533 in September

70% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

940 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 5% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

The median time to treatment was 67 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