More patients visited A&E at the Torbay and South Devon Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 8,854 patients visited A&E at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust in October.

That was a rise of 2% on the 8,645 visits recorded during September, and 5% more than the 8,411 patients seen in October 2021.

The figures show attendances were above the levels seen two years ago – in October 2020, there were 6,776 visits to A&E departments run by the Torbay and South Devon Trust.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 35% were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 2.2 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 9% compared to September, and a similar number as were seen during October 2021.

At Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust:

In October:

  • There were 117 booked appointments, up from 57 in September
  • 57% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%
  • 734 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit – 8% of patients
  • Of those, 213 were delayed by more than 12 hours

Separate NHS Digital data reveals that in September:

  • The median time to treatment was 90 minutes. The median average is used to ensure figures are not skewed by particularly long or short waiting times
  • Around 5% of patients left before being treated