18,000 A&E visitors in three months

More than 18,000 people visited the accident and emergency department at Rochdale Infirmary between October and December last year.

The latest figures show 18,029 A&E attendances, with 96.7% of those seen in less than four hours, slightly less than the national average of 97.4%.

Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the Infirmary, is pleased with the Infirmary's performance.

A spokesman said: “Rochdale Infirmary’s A&E department coped well over the winter period.

“Although Rochdale Infirmary witnessed a rise in admissions during December, which may have been a result of the poor weather in the area, the number of people attending A&E remained the same as previous years.

“This is in part to the public’s response to the Choose Well message where they were encouraged to visit walk in centres, local GPs and pharmacists rather than attending A&E.

“When someone does have to visit A&E, staff at Rochdale Infirmary’s A&E department work very hard to ensure each patient is seen in less than four hours.”