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

NHS England figures show 13,778 patients visited A&E at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust in October.

That was a rise of 4% on the 13,290 visits recorded during September, and 4% more than the 13,219 patients seen in October 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in October 2020, there were 11,040 visits to A&E departments run by Portsmouth 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 24% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 5% 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 an increase of 9% compared to September, and a similar number as were seen during October 2021.

At Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust:

In October:

  • There were 1,771 booked appointments, up from 1,680 in September
  • 1,631 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 12% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

  • The median time to treatment was 60 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • Around 5% of patients left before being treated