Emergency care: what do the May data show? COVID-19 chart series
15 June 2020
About 2 mins to read
- As in March and April, A&E visits and emergency admissions through A&E were lower in May than in the same month the year before. Ambulance crews transported fewer patients to A&E with more patients treated at the scene.
- The percentage reductions in A&E visits, emergency admissions through A&E and the numbers of patients transported to A&E were smaller than in April showing that levels of activity are starting to recover. However, the falls are slightly larger than in March when the lockdown began.
- Emergency admissions have recovered at a faster rate than A&E visits, with such admissions 24% down in May compared to 22% down in March.
- Visits to major A&E departments were down 33% in May compared 26% in March. The slowest to recover have been activity in minor A&E departments, where visits in May were 58% lower than the total in March 2019. However, these are typically the patients where care could be provided by other NHS services, such as 111 or primary care.
- The broad patterns of emergency care use are similar across regions. All regions experienced reductions in visits to minor and major A&E departments, emergency admissions through A&E and patients transported to A&E by ambulance.
- London had the largest reduction in major A&E visits (41%), emergency admissions (35%) and the number of patients transported to A&E via ambulance (26%) in May. This is despite London no longer having the highest COVID-19 infection rates. The reductions in minor A&E visits in London are similar to those in other regions.
- The North West had the smallest year on year fall in emergency admissions through A&E in May (16%). This is less than half the reduction in London.
- All regions experienced a year on year fall in ambulance incidents in May, with the largest reductions in London (12%), the North West, and the South West (both 9%).
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