Fears as patients still avoiding A&E units in Wigan

There has been a drop in the number of people seeking help at Wigan Infirmary’s A&E unit and Leigh walk-in centre since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, mirroring falls in attendance at other hospitals around the country.

However, the data from NHS England shows more people did go to the units in July than in June, suggesting people are returning gradually.

A total of 10,132 people went to the borough’s units last month - 6,879 to A&E and 3,253 to the walk-in centre.

That was 21.7 per cent lower than the 12,941 attendances in July last year, but up 9.4 per cent from 9,261 in June.

Overall, 94.2 per cent of patients were seen within the four-hour target time - just below the national standard of 95 per cent.

This was 91.5 per cent for just the A&E department and 99.8 per cent for the walk-in centre.

There were 3,063 emergency admissions in July, up 9.5 per cent from 2,795 in June but down 6.1 per cent from last July.

Nationally, almost 1.6m attendances were recorded in July, down 30 per cent from around 2.3m attendances in July 2019.

NHS England said “significantly lower” attendances compared to the previous year were “likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response” – suggesting that people are still staying away from A&E departments because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The 30 per cent year-on-year drop for July compares with a fall of 33 per cent recorded in June, 42 per cent in May and 57 per cent in April.

Bosses at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs both Wigan and Leigh infirmaries, have previously encouraged people to continue seeking medical care when necessary, despite the coronavirus

outbreak.