PEOPLE have started returning to A&E at Oxfordshire's hospitals but the numbers are still far below what they were before the pandemic.

There were 8,870 visits to the John Radcliffe and Horton General's Emergency Departments throughout May, up more than 2,000 on the month before.

It is still a massive drop on a year ago though when NHS England data shows there were 12,244 visits –a 27.5 per cent reduction. April marked a low point for visits to accident and emergency at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with a 49 per cent decrease.

Oxford Mail:

Hospital bosses have been concerned people are staying away to avoid 'being a burden' during the coronavirus outbreak especially for serious conditions, like stroke or heart problems, which could prove fatal if left untreated.

Diane Hedges, deputy chief executive of Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group at a meeting on Tuesday, discussing the topic said: “You can see a really striking drop off of the activity that has been presenting to A&E. There is reason to believe that some of that presenting activity perhaps shouldn’t have been presenting in the first place but also underlying that some real concerns I know about rates of presentations for strokes, heart attacks and other major conditions.”