The NHS is FULL! Shocking new stats show 96% of adult beds are occupied… as norovirus jumps again
Almost every single NHS hospital bed was occupied last week, concerning new data revealed today.
More than 97,000 patients were in hospital in England — higher than any point so far this winter, officials said.
It marked an average bed occupancy rate of 96 per cent — 92 per cent is the point at at which point officials say performance of staff drops.
Rates of the winter vomiting bug norovirus, meanwhile, are almost 50 per cent higher than expected for this time of year.
Separate surveillance data that monitors England’s flu outbreak also suggests hospital admissions are slightly down on the previous week but still four times the level recorded in early December.
Figures show almost 5,000 beds alone were taken up by flu patients every day last week, up 3.5 times on the same week last year.
England’s top doctor today warned that NHS staff were under ‘hard’ and ‘challenging surroundings’ and warned despite flu cases falling, the health service ‘was not out of the woods yet’.
Government ministers also said patients had faced ‘unacceptable’ experiences and acknowledged there was ‘much more to do’.
Multiple NHS hospitals have now declared ‘critical incidents’. Pictured, ambulances wait outside the emergency department at the Royal Cornwall Hospital on January 4
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said: ‘Despite NHS staff doing their level best, the experiences of patients this winter are unacceptable. Annual winter pressures, which will always exist, should not automatically lead to an annual winter crisis.
‘We have ended the strikes, so for the first winter in three years staff are on the front line not the picket line, and introduced protected more patients with flu vaccinations than last year, but there is much more to do.
‘It will take time to turn the health service around so patients receive the standards of care they deserve, but it can be done. Through our Plan for Change this government is making the investment and fundamental reform needed to make sure the NHS can be there for us when we need it, once again.’
Professor Julian Redhead, NHS national clinical director for urgent and emergency care added: ‘While it is encouraging news flu cases are no longer increasing, hospitals are not out of the woods yet.
‘Staff are working incredibly hard in sometimes challenging surroundings, but winter viruses are much higher than usual for this time of year.
‘This coupled with the cold snap and problems discharging patients means hospitals are jampacked with patients – even as more beds have been opened to manage increased demand.
