Drop in visits to A&E at Milton Keynes University Hospital last month

NHS England figures show 10,019 patients visited A&E at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in October.

That was a drop of 7% on the 10,784 visits recorded during September, and 22% lower than the 12,778 patients seen in October 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 31% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.6 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 6% compared to September, and 26% fewer than the 2.2 million seen during October 2019.

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

At Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:

In October:

There were 86 booked appointments, down from 95 in September

94% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

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

Separate data reveals that in September:

The median time to treatment was 60.5 minutes

Around 3% of patients left before being treated