More patients visited A&E at the Somerset Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 16,457 patients visited A&E at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in June.

That was a rise of 1% on the 16,272 visits recorded during May, and 4% more than the 15,764 patients seen in June 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic – in June 2020, there were 10,685 visits to A&E departments run by the Somerset Trust.

The majority of attendances last month were via minor A&E departments – those which treat minor injuries and illnesses such as fractures, cuts and bruises – while 42% were via major departments, with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.

Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month.

That was in line with May, and the same number as were seen during June 2021.

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust:

In June:

  • There were three booked appointments, from three in May
  • 76% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
  • 523 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 3% of patients
  • Of those, 44 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in May:

  • The median time to treatment was 63 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • Around 2% of patients left before being treated