More patients visited A&E at Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust last month, with demand rising above the levels seen over the same period last year.

NHS England figures show 20,507 patients visited A&E at the trust, which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital, in May.

That was a rise of 11 per cent on the 18,507 visits recorded during April, and two per cent more than the 20,045 patients seen in May 2020.

The figures show attendances were below the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic – in May 2019, there were 34,704 visits to A&E at Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust.

The majority of attendances last month were via major A&E departments, while 23 per cent were via minor injury units.

Across England, A&E departments received 2.1 million visits last month.

That was an increase of 11 per cent compared to April, and 65 per cent more than the 1.3 million seen during May 2020 – a reflection of lower-than-usual numbers for that month as more people avoided hospitals during the early days of the pandemic.

At Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust:

In May:

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

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

Of those, 11 were delayed by more than 12 hours