The NHS target is for hospitals to fill no more than 92% of their general and acute beds. Recent NHS figures show 17 of 22 Trusts across Yorkshire and the North East are breaching this target as they head into winter. This is causing concern amongst senior NHS staff.
NHS England has said rising flu and norovirus cases were putting pressure on the system. Consequently, with hospitals’ full beds reaching 95% capacity, they become increasingly vulnerable to surges in flu, COVID or norovirus, resulting in higher risks for patients.
This will increase the amount of time patients need to stay in hospital and will coincide with frontline staff struggles to admit other patients or place them in the right wards.
Across Yorkshire and the North East, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had the highest occupancy levels. On average, 98.8% of its general and acute beds were filled in the week ending 3 December 2023. It had no spare beds at all when the daily snapshot was taken on 30 November. The second busiest was Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, with 97.9% of its beds full on average that week.
Comment
The latest figures are deeply worrying for patients as well as NHS staff, particularly heading into the winter. Patient care and safety is of course a major priority. It is essential hospitals gain the support they need to manage the situation as soon as possible.
If hospitals continue to struggle to admit patients, this increases the likelihood of patients not having the access to the care they need.
How can we help?
Marcus Williams is a Paralegal in our Medical Negligence team, which is ranked in Tier One by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500.
For advice on the subjects discussed in this article, please get in touch with Marcus or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
Contact us