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

NHS England figures show 13,523 patients visited A&E at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in July.

That was a drop of 2 per cent on the 13,792 visits recorded during June, but 7 per cent more than the 12,619 patients seen in July 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic – in July 2020, there were 9,304 visits to A&E departments run by Buckinghamshire Healthcare.

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The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 22 per cent were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 8 per cent 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 a decrease of 1 per cent compared to June, and the same number as were seen during July 2021.

At Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust:

In July:

  • 72 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent
  • 644 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 5 per cent of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in June:

  • The median time to treatment was 127 minutes.  The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • No patients left before being treated