MORE patients visited A&E at Bradford Royal Infirmary last month, with demand rising above the levels seen in March last year.

NHS England figures show 10,978 patients visited A&E at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in March.

That was a rise of 23% on the 8,920 visits recorded during February, and 22% more than the 8,993 patients seen in March the previous year.

All of last month's attendances were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care. Across England, A&E departments received 1.7 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 32% compared to February, and 10% more than the 1.5 million seen during March 2020.

At Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust:

In March:

l85% of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95%

l615 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit

lSeparate data reveals that in February:

lThe median time to treatment was 65 minutes

lAround 4% of patients left before being treated