Concerns over Hospital Overcrowding

Hospitals in England are so overcrowded ahead of Christmas that experts say care is being put at risk, with some places having to turn away ambulances because they cannot accept any more patients.

NHS England’s first weekly report of the winter shows nearly 95% of beds are occupied. Anything above 85% is unsafe.

Experts have warned hospitals were in the “red zone” which means there is a risk to care.

The data for last week showed eight A&Es had diverted ambulance crews elsewhere because they were so busy, and even when ambulances were able to drop patients off, significant numbers were facing delays.

Ambulance crews are meant to be able to handover patients to A&E staff within 15 minutes of arrival – but in one in nine cases it took over 30 minutes.

An NHS England official said staff were “working hard” to keep up with demand.

“As the colder weather begins to set in, it’s vital that the NHS and local authorities continue to work together to help people stay well and out of hospital wherever possible. The public can also help NHS staff by making sure they have their free flu jab if eligible and by using NHS 111 as their first port of call for non-emergencies.”

It is more than a year since any part of the UK has hit one of its three key targets – for:

• A&E waits
• cancer care
• hospital operations.

The extra money announced by the government in the summer will not start reaching the front line until next year.

Siva Anandaciva, of the King’s Fund think tank, said the figures showed the NHS was ‘already under tremendous strain’. “Despite a mild start to winter and low flu levels, targets are still being badly missed. These figures show little slack in a system, which is operating consistently in the red zone. Hospital bed occupancy levels are already higher than recommended levels, the point at which hospitals are so full that good patient care is put at risk.”

Julie Crossley, a Medical Negligence Lawyer at Ashtons Legal says: “Following the catastrophic problems faced by the NHS last year, when many routine operations were cancelled and we saw unprecedented waiting in Accident and Emergency, it is concerning that we are only at the beginning of what has been a relatively mild start to the winter and already hospitals are reporting delays and overcrowding.This will inevitably lead to missed and delayed diagnoses and potentially loss of life which in turn leads to litigation in some cases.We can all do our bit by ensuring we do not abuse the service and only call for an ambulance in genuine circumstances.”