Fewer patients visited A&E at Dorset County Hospital last month – but attendances were higher than during the first national lockdown last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 6,028 patients visited A&E at Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in April.

That was a drop of 21% on the 7,591 visits recorded during March, but 74% more than the 3,465 patients seen in April the previous year.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in April 2019, there were 8,843 visits to A&E at Dorset County Hospital.

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 1.9 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 11% compared to March, and more than double the 916,600 seen during April 2020 – a reflection of lower-than-usual numbers for that month as more people avoided hospitals during the early days of the pandemic.

At Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust:

In April:

There were 118 booked appointments, up from 20 in March

87% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

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

Separate data reveals that in March:

The median time to treatment was 54 minutes

Around 1% of patients left before being treated