Rise in visits to A&E at the Sussex Community Trust

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

NHS England figures show 10,083 patients visited A&E at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust in March.

That was a rise of 21% on the 8,318 visits recorded during February, and 24% more than the 8,103 patients seen in March 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – in March 2020, there were 6,561 visits to A&E at the Sussex Community Trust.

All of last month's attendances were via minor A&E departments – those which treat minor injuries and illnesses such as fractures, cuts and bruises.

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

That was an increase of 19% compared to February, and 29% more than the 1.7 million seen during March 2021.

At Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust:

In March:

99% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in February:

The median time to treatment was 15 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times

Around 3% of patients left before being treated