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 15,082 patients visited A&E at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust in December.

That was a rise of 7% on the 14,038 visits recorded during November, and 34% more than the 11,229 patients seen in December 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in December 2020, there were 9,680 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 23% were via minor injury units.

Meanwhile, around 4% were via consultant-led departments with single specialties, such as eye conditions or dental problems.

Across England, A&E departments received 2.3 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 5% compared to November, and 22% more than the 1.9 million seen during December 2021.

At Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust:

In December:

  • There were 1,906 booked appointments, up from 1,799 in November
  • 1,904 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 13% of patients

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in October:

  • The median time to treatment was 54 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • Around 6% of patients left before being treated