FEWER patients visited A&E at the Bolton Trust last month – but attendances were higher than over the same period last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 10,572 patients visited A&E at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in December.

That was a drop of six per cent on the 11,245 visits recorded during November, but 28 per cent more than the 8,281 patients seen in December 2020.

The figures show attendances were in line with the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in December 2019, there were 10,528 visits to A&E at the Bolton Trust.

There were 23 booked appointments, down from 41 in November

And 63 per cent of arrivals were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 per cent.

A total of 833 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit.

Of those, 144 were delayed by more than 12 hours.

Around four per cent of patients left before being treated

Across England, A&E departments received 1.9 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of eight per cent compared to November, but 27 per cent more than the 1.5 million seen during December 2020.