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

NHS England figures show 9,646 patients visited A&E at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in March.

That was a rise of 31 per cent on the 7,367 visits recorded during February, and 17 per cent more than the 8,234 patients seen in March the previous year.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments – those with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care – while 7 per cent were via minor injury units. Across England, A&E departments received 1.7 million visits last month.

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

At Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in March:74 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent; 392 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit; of those, 10 were delayed by more than 12 hours; no patients left before being treated.

The hospital has covid precautions in place.