With hospital bed capacity is at its worst so far this winter, and the number of patients being hospitalised by certain seasonal illnesses on the rise, patient flow must be improved or patients, who are already in our corridors and cupboards, will bear the brunt of what comes next.
That’s the warning today (22 January) from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine following the publication of the latest winter Situational Report from NHS England.
Today’s sitrep, which covered the week ending 18 January, showed that bed occupancy rose on the previous week to 94.7% – the highest it has been so far this winter. This means our hospitals are full. Such high bed occupancy means patients cannot be admitted from EDs, often leading to extremely long waits and, worse still, so-called ‘corridor care’.
Norovirus, sometimes known as Diarrhoea and Vomiting (D&V), is also at its most prevalent so far this winter, with the number of beds occupied by patients admitted with it up by 344 to an average of 984 each day.
The figures also showed:
- 11, 591 additional beds would be required to reach a safe 85% occupancy rate. Many of these beds should be single patient rooms given the infectious nature of winter illnesses
NHS England’s latest figures come on the same day that Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said tackling corridor care, and the ED crisis in general, would be a “marathon”, but that he aimed for “faster progress” on the big issues facing the NHS.
Dr Ian Higginson, RCEM President, said: “Emergency Departments across the country are under immense strain from additional winter pressures. These pressures exist all year round but get worse at this time of year. It’s entirely predictable, which is why it’s so frustrating that there is no effective planning in place to deal with it.
“We simply do not have the capacity to bear perfectly normal surges in illnesses like norovirus because the beds are not available. We run the NHS hot. It’s not sustainable.
“Every day, we have to tell our very sick, or injured, patients that they are in for a long wait in ED because there isn’t anywhere for them to go.
“Our patients do not deserve this. The data plainly shows that we need more hospital beds free in order to cope with predictable seasonal illnesses
“We can reduce the number of extra beds needed in hospitals by making those hospitals work more effectively, especially over the weekends and holiday periods.
“The thousands of patients fit to leave hospital, but unable to through not fault of their own, must also be supported to do so.
“For this to happen, we need investment in social care and wrap-around services which can speed up discharges.
“Without sustained improvements from the government on hospital flow, the hospital system will fail and our patients will continue to suffer. When things get too hot, they tend to catch fire.”
