Local accident and emergency departments have seen a rise in the number of patients being admitted compared to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has published data comparing A&E admissions in March to those in February 2020, the last "unaffected" month before the first coronavirus lockdown.

All four acute hospitals in the county have seen admissions rise sharply in this time – though all four saw a sharp fall in admissions in the first 12 months of the national crisis.

The figures also reveal that only one of the four hospitals is currently hitting the government's four-hour waiting time target – with the other three missing it by quite some distance in light of staffing pressures.

Michelle Skillings, the CCG's head of performance, presented her data to Somerset County Council's adults and health scrutiny committee when it met in Taunton on Wednesday morning (July 7).

At Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, the number of patients admitted to the A&E department in March 2021 was 18.2 per cent higher than in February 2020 – the equivalent of 861 additional patients.

Of these patients, 79.5 per cent were seen within four hours of being admitted – missing the government's target of 95 per cent.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, attendances fell by 18.6 per cent compared to the same period in 2019/20 – the equivalent of 13,978 fewer individual visits.

During this period, 84.8 per cent of patients managed to be seen within four hours of admission.

Yeovil Hospital saw a 12.4 per cent rise in patient numbers in March 2021 compared to February 2020 (the equivalent of 466 additional admissions) – though admissions between April 2020 and March 2021 fall by 20.8 per cent (12,107 fewer admissions).

Despite ongoing Covid pressures on its staff, the hospital managed to hit the government's waiting time target for both periods – seeing 95.3 per cent and 95.2 per cent of patients within four hours respectively.

Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) saw the sharpest rise in A&E admissions in March 2021 compared to the previous year, with a rise of 23.9 per cent (1,238 additional patients).

Between April 2020 and March 2021, overall attendances fall by 20 per cent – the equivalent of 17,515 patients.

In both periods the hospital failed to meet the government's waiting times target, with 84.3 per cent and 81.3 per cent respectively being seen within four hours of admission.

Finally, at Weston General Hospital in Weston-super-Mare, A&E attendance increased by 11.9 per cent in March 2021 compared to the same period in 2021 – the equivalent of 360 additional patients.

Between April 2020 and March 2021, overall A&E attendances fell by a dramatic 33.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2019/20 – a drop of 16,841 admissions.

The hospital had the worst A&E waiting time performance of Somerset's four acute hospitals – seeing 75.2 per cent and 77.5 per cent of patients respectively within four hours.

Ms Skillings said the coronavirus had caused a "significant impact" on emergency services, but added she was confident the service would improve as the pandemic eased.

By Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter

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