Drop in visits to A&E at Northampton General Hospital last month

NHS England figures show 8,392 patients visited A&E at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust in November.

That was a drop of 6% on the 8,893 visits recorded during October, and 27% lower than the 11,539 patients seen in November the previous year.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 14% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 8% were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.5 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 7% compared to October, and 31% fewer than the 2.1 million seen during November 2019.

The NHS said the drop in attendances nationally is "likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response".

At Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust:

In November:

There were 488 booked appointments, up from 63 in October

73% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

712 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

Separate data reveals that in October:

The median time to treatment was 66 minutes

Around 2% of patients left before being treated