Almost 2,000 more patients than year before turned up to northern Lincolnshire A&Es last month

The main entrance to the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, pictured in 2024
-Credit:Donna Clifford/GrimsbyLive


There were almost 2,000 more people attending accident and emergency (A&E) departments in northern Lincolnshire this December than 12 months earlier.

Latest NHS England data shows the demand local A&Es have faced. There were 16,491 attendances to A&Es at Scunthorpe General Hospital and Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, last month.

This is a 11.3 per cent increase compared to December 2023, when 14,635 attended. However, despite the increased demand faced by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLAG) A&Es, the proportion of patients seen within four hours improved in December, compared to the same time the year before.

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The recently released data comes as the local NHS continues to advise patients its emergency departments are under "significant pressure". People are being asked to attend A&E only if it is really necessary, and to consider alternative options for minor ailments, such as visiting your GP or pharmacist.

879 people had a 12 hours wait from decision to admit to admission to NLAG's A&Es. This was an increase compared to December 2023, where 705 people waited 12 hours or more.

But 68.5 per cent of the almost 16,500 attendees to A&E were admitted within four hours, an improvement on 61.5 per cent the previous December.

NLAG's website currently has a red banner notice advising the public its emergency departments are "really busy" and people who do not need urgent emergency treatment "will have a long wait to be seen".

A statement by Humber Health Partnership online earlier this month states: "All three Emergency Departments in Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Hull remain under significant pressure, in line with other departments in hospitals all over the country. While we are not seeing higher attendances than we would expect to see in January, we are seeing sicker patients, including those with flu, who need to stay in hospital for longer than usual."

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It adds there have also been high numbers of patients well enough to go home but unable to be discharged until care packages can be arranged, or places found in community facilities, like care homes. "These factors mean we cannot move patients requiring hospital care out of our Emergency Departments and onto wards, placing all areas of our hospitals and our staff under pressure.

"Humber Health Partnership is working closely with community health partners and local authorities to free up space on wards as quickly as possible." It is urging people to consider alternatives to A&E if people do not require urgent or emergency treatment, such as pharmacies, local GPs and Urgent Treatment Centres. If unsure where to go, people are advised to call NHS111. You can find out how A&E waiting times are in your area by clicking on the link below.

More than 2.35 million people attended A&Es across England last month. Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director, said that hospitals were "under exceptional pressure" at the start of the year, facing "mammoth demand" linked to the colder weather and respiratory viruses like flu.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: "Although this winter’s campaign vaccinated more people than last winter, this strain of flu has hit hard, putting more than three times as many patients into hospital compared to this time last year. Annual winter pressures should not mean an annual winter crisis, which is why this government is making significant investment in the NHS, undertaking fundamental reform, and acting now to improve social care."