Drop in visits to A&E at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals last month

Fewer patients visited A&E at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals last month – and attendances were lower than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 22,444 patients visited A&E at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust in August.

That was a drop of 15% on the 26,407 visits recorded during July, and 12% lower than the 25,632 patients seen in August 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in August 2020, there were 19,581 visits to A&E departments run by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals.

​The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care​ – while 38% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 9% 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 decrease of 8% compared to July, and the same number as were seen during August 2021.

At Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust:

In August:

59% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

1,526 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 7% of patients

Of those, 502 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in July:

The median time to treatment was 174 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 10% of patients left before being treated