A&E visits hit record-high – partly driven by meningitis outbreak

Meningitis drove record A&E visits in March, with 2.43 million patients seeking emergency care, NHS England has said.

March saw the highest number of people attending A&E, breaking the previous record of 2.41 million in May 2024, figures published on Thursday show.

The figures come after a major outbreak of meningitis in Kent in March, which led to two deaths and dozens of people being hospitalised.

NHS England has said the record-breaking A&E month “was driven in part following reports of a meningitis outbreak mid-March, which saw a marked increase in demand.”

Meanwhile, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has fallen for the fourth month in a row.

An estimated 7.22 million treatments were waiting to be carried out at the end of February, relating to 6.11 million patients.

This is down from 7.25 million treatments and 6.13 million patients at the end of January.

The number of treatments waiting to be carried out is at its lowest level since February 2023, when it stood at 7.22 million. The list hit a record high in September 2023, with 7.77 million treatments and 6.50 million patients.

Discussing the latest NHS statistics on LBC, health secretary Wes Streeting said: “They are all showing progress in the right direction.”

He added: “There’ll be people listening thinking, yeah, it’s moving in the right direction. That was my experience.

“They’ll have a story to tell that will mean a lot to them. They’ll be saying, well done.

“And there’ll be other people shouting on the radio saying, ‘What the hell is this guy talking about? I’ve had a really awful experience’.

“And both of those things are true. The NHS is moving in the right direction.

“It’s on the road to recovery, but there’s a lot more to do, and for me, the next year is about putting my foot down on the accelerator.”

More to follow…