THE number of people attending accident and emergency departments at Somerset hospitals is continuing to rise, according to official NHS data.

Acute hospitals in Yeovil, Taunton, Bath and Weston-super-Mare all saw a rise in A&E admissions in April and May 2019, compared to the same period 12 months ago.

But only one of the four sites achieved its government target of seeing 95 per cent of those admitted to A&E within four hours of their arrival.

The Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) – which decides how health resources are allocated across the county – said the trends were indicative of a national rise in demand for acute services.

A report on the performance of the four A&E departments was discussed by Somerset County Council’s adults and health scrutiny committee in Taunton on Wednesday morning (September 11).

Across Somerset, the number of people attending either A&E or a minor injuries unit (MIU) in April and May 2019 rose by 6.4 per cent, compared to the same period for the previous year.

Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton saw a four per cent rise in admissions (the equivalent of 223 extra people) – and 80.4 per cent of those admitted were seen within four hours.

Deborah Rigby, the CCG’s deputy director of quality and safety, said the hospital trust had seen a rise in “clinically complex” patients coming to A&E, and was working to triage patients faster – especially frail or elderly patients.

Yeovil Hospital saw A&E admissions leap by nine per cent compared to the same period last year – the equivalent of 316 extra people.

But despite this, 96.1 per cent of those admitted to A&E were seen within four hours – making it the second-best performing department in the country.

At the Royal United Hospital in Bath, A&E admissions rose by 5.3 per cent (the equivalent of 769 people) and 82.68 per cent of patients were seen within four hours.

Ms Rigby said the hospital had seen “a sustained increase in ambulance activity” in April and May, and had to deal with outbreaks of both flu and norovirus in its catchment area.

Weston General Hospital – whose A&E department is closed overnight – saw admissions rise by 6.9 per cent, with 80.2 per cent of patients being seen within the four-hour target time.

The number of people attending an MIU rose by 11 per cent compared to a year ago.

All but one of the seven MIUs in Somerset saw a rise in admissions; Bridgwater, Chard and West Mendip saw “significant growth”, with Burnham-on-Sea bucking the trend.

David Freeman, the CCG’s interim chief officer, said it was difficult to precisely compare the current performance of A&E departments with how they fared 12 months ago.

He told the committee: “The figures are not like-for-like because of when Easter and the various bank holidays fall.

“This is a nationwide issue, and something which the entire NHS is concerned about.”

Councillor Mark Healey said GP provision needed to be improved to stop A&E numbers from rising further.

He said: “People are still turning up at A&E because they cannot see their doctor.

“Do you believe that there should be a 24/7 service for doctors – will that achieve anything?”

Mr Freeman responded that “urgent treatment centres” were being trialled in the Sedgemoor district, which work with GPs to provide treatment for people who did not necessarily need to go to A&E.

He added: “All our services across Somerset are performing well against recovery plans which were put in place.”