Rise in visits to casualty unit at Sutton’s King’s Mill Hospital

NHS England figures show 15,900 patients visited accident and emergency at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust in May, up 9 per cent on the 14,570 visits recorded during April, and 2 per cent more than the 15,664 patients seen in May 2022.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in May 2021, there were 13,953 visits to A&E departments run by SFH.

Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the latest data shows an NHS under "immense strain and struggling" during a continuous crisis.

He said: "Through the enormous efforts of staff and consideration of patients, many still receive good care. However, this should not be used as a smokescreen for the turmoil beneath and it is no long-term solution."

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care, such as at King’s Mill – while 35 per cent were via minor injury units, such as the urgent care centre at SFH’s Newark Hospital.

Dr David Selwyn, SFH medical director, said: “Demand for NHS services remains high across the entire country, we continue to remain a focus on the number of patients seen within four hours despite a difficult winter that has also included managing the very significant impact resulting from recent Industrial action.”

“We know that high demand means that patients sometimes have to wait longer for the treatment they need and I would like to thank our patients for their understanding as our hard-working NHS staff work to see them as quickly as possible, we triage our patients to ensure that we see those in most need, first.”

“Before visiting A&E, we’re asking people to consider whether it is a genuine emergency as it’s often not the best place for their needs, which is why we continue to work collaboratively with our health and social care partners to ensure that patients can continue to access the treatment they need, in the appropriate place, as quickly as possible. If you need urgent medical attention when it’s not an emergency, please choose carefully”

Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month, up 10 per cent compared to April and similar to the number of visits seen in May 2022.

The number of people waiting more than 12 hours in A&E departments from a decision to admit to actually being admitted stood at 31,494 in May, up 17 per cent from 26,899 in April. However, it was down 42 per cent from a record 54,573 in December 2022.

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said staff are continuing to deliver improvements despite the NHS continuing to see high levels of demand across urgent and emergency care.

At SFH in May:

• There were 123 booked appointments, up from 114 in April;

• 74 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent;

• 710 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 4 per cent of all arrivals. Of those, 83 were delayed by more than 12 hours.