THOUSANDS of patients visited Hereford's Accident and Emergency department last month, although attendances were lower than in December last year, figures reveal.

NHS England figures show 4,738 patients visited A&E at Wye Valley NHS Trust in December.

That was a rise of seven percent on the 4,433 visits recorded during November, but 15 percent lower than the 5,568 patients seen in December the previous year.

All of last month's attendances were via Hereford's A&E department, which is equipped with full resuscitation equipment and 24-hour consultant-led care.

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

That was a decrease of one 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, 67 percent of arrivals to Hereford County Hospital were seen within four hours, against an NHS target of 95 percent, while 283 patients waited longer than four hours for treatment following a decision to admit. Of those, seven were delayed by more than 12 hours