Fewer patients visited A&E at Great Western Hospital last month – and attendances were lower than in December last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 7,134 patients visited A&E at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in December.

That was a drop of one percent on the 7,186 visits recorded during November, and 39 percent lower than the 11,773 patients seen in December 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 42 percent were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 1.5 million visits last month.

That was a decrease of 1 percent compared to November, and 32 percent fewer than the 2.2 million seen during December 2019.

The NHS said the drop in attendances nationally is "likely to be a result of the Covid-19 response".

In December 2020:

There were 322 booked appointments, up from 100 in November

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

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

Of those, one was delayed by more than 12 hours.