Visits to A&E drop to lowest levels on record

VISITS to A&E in Leicestershire dropped to their lowest level in almost five years last month - but medics are concerned unwell people are avoiding getting treatment they need.

There were 16,136 A&E visits at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in March as the coronavirus pandemic took hold - the lowest monthly number since the figures began to be recorded in June 2015.

The number was down by almost a third (29.8%) compared to 22,999 visits in March 2019.

The former president of the

Society of Acute Medicine has warned doctors are reporting people with serious conditions like pneumonia, heart attacks, strokes and blood clots not seeking help soon enough.

The number of emergency admissions from A&E have also dropped to 3,981, down by a quarter (25.3%) compared to March 2019.

However, the number of emergency admissions as a proportion of all attendances has risen to 24.7%, compared to 23.2% a year before.

As the number of people attending A&Es has dropped, the amount of time people are waiting has improved slightly.

In March, 72.1% of people waited less than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge, up from 66.8% in February.

President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Dr Katherine Henderson said the healthcare system is still “open for business”, and A&Es were taking precautions, such as separate areas for treating non-Covid-19 patients.

She said: “We are concerned that this drop in attendance may mean that people with serious health problems are avoiding going to their emergency department for fear of getting coronavirus.

“The response to the coronavirus outbreak by the NHS has been superb; capacity has been ramped up at pace and we’ve seen an increase in staff.

“The most important thing the public can do at the moment is to stay indoors and follow the government’s advice.

“But do seek medical help if you need it – don’t stay at home with a heart attack out of fear.”

Across England, there were 1.5 million visits to A&E in March, down more than a quarter (29.4%) compared to 2.2 million visits in March 2019.

Dr Nick Scriven, former president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: “As COVID attendances have gone up, nonCOVID attendances have reduced drastically and there has been growing concern among clinicians about people feeling sick at home but not coming to hospital as they are frightened and then coming to harm.

“We need to ensure people are aware hospitals have planned and are managing COVID-19 as best they can and that urgent and emergency services remain open for all patients who are seriously unwell and maybe unable to access their usual primary care services or have had outpatient clinic appointments cancelled by hospitals.”

Across England, the number of emergency admissions from A&E have also dropped to 325,787, down by a fifth (21.7%) compared to March 2019.

This means that the number of admissions as a proportion of all attendances has risen to its highest level on record, at 21.3%.

That compares to 19.2% of attendances leading to admissions in March 2019.

Deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery said: “The figures released today show that in March there was a significant drop in A&E attendances, likely because people are thinking carefully before going in.

“We absolutely support the advice to stay at home unless necessary, but it is vital that those patients who need it still access emergency care.”