Hospitals ‘in red zone’ with record numbers of A&E patients
A recent report commissioned by the National Centre for Rural Health and Care suggests “unavoidably small” NHS trusts are series underperformers and therefore some of the most acute challenges linked to this area will be in rural England. This story tells us:
Hospitals are very busy and dangerously full, even though the weather has been mild and flu is not a major problem, NHS figures show.
Record numbers of people in England sought help at A&E, had to be admitted to hospital or waited longer than the maximum 18 weeks for a planned operation in November, according to data released on Thursday.
The intense pressures on NHS services prompted warnings that this winter could prove even tougher than last year, when it experienced its worst ever winter crisis.
“Despite the extensive preparations by trusts, today’s figures make it very clear that the NHS is on course for a very difficult winter,” said Miriam Deakin, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts.
The latest performance statistics show that hospitals missed a host of waiting-time targets as they treated unusually high numbers of patients for the time of year:
• 87.6% of patients arriving at A&E were treated within four hours, far off the 95% target and the lowest proportion ever for November.
• 94.2% of hospital beds were full last week, well above the 85% figure that evidence shows is the safe limit for bed occupancy.
• A&E units had to divert patients to another hospital 25 times last week, of which 11 occurred at the troubled Worcestershire acute hospitals trust.
• 10,675 patients had to spend at least 30 minutes with ambulance crews before being handed over to A&E staff, in breach of NHS rules which say that should never happen.
• Almost 55,000 patients spent at least four hours on a trolley while they waited to get a hospital bed.
• 405 urgent operations were cancelled in October, 42% more than the 287 cancellations a year before.
The NHS is already “operating in the red zone”, the King’s Fund said.