14,000 beds are still occupied by patients fit enough to be discharged, so how busy is YOUR hospital

Bed lockdowns in hospitals are back to near record levels despite an alleged crackdown and £250million in extra funding to deal with the crisis.

An average of 13,983 beds – one in seven – were occupied last week by patients doctors had declared discharged, new NHS figures show.

This is up from 13,566 in the previous week and close to a record 14,069 in the seven days ended January 8th.

The Government announced last month that £250million would be made available to support the rapid discharge of patients into care homes – on top of the £500million ‘discharge fund’ launched in November.

But health leaders warn the NHS remains in a “dark position” as people are still trying to get to hospital faster than others are leaving.

The delays have been largely attributed to a shortage of care home places and a lack of caregivers who can help people cook, wash and eat in their own homes.

But local councils say they are being unfairly blamed for the problem, claiming half of the delays are within the NHS’ own control, e.g. B. Patients waiting for the right records or prescriptions from hospital pharmacies.

Figures show that 93.8 percent of hospital beds were occupied last week, which is higher than the 85 percent believed to be safe.

The lack of available beds is slowing the rate at which patients can be hospitalized for routine surgeries or in emergencies.

It also creates a bottleneck in the emergency department, as patients have to wait for trolleys until a ward has room and ambulances are forced to queue outside until there is room inside.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine has warned up to 500 people are dying every week due to delays in treatments and ambulances.

The devastating figures come as the NHS is prepared for strikes on four days out of five next week, with nurses, ambulance staff and physiotherapists going out on various days.

dr Layla McCay, Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation, said: “Ahead of the worst week of industrial action to hit the NHS, health leaders are concerned the service is under very high pressure.

“Flu cases are down but NHS 111, ambulance arrivals in A&E and hospital bed occupancy remain stubbornly high.

“Despite government investment, nearly 14,000 medically healthy patients are still in beds they don’t need to be in and this is not being supported by funding, which is helping them discharge far too late in the day to make a meaningful difference.” do.

“Health leaders are determined to make the most of this and do whatever it takes to improve performance, but the NHS is only part of the solution – much more attention needs to be given to it, which is putting so many people in desperate need of contact need to come and emergency services in the first place.

“Add to this the prospect of further waves of industrial action which will only increase in severity to the disruption unless the Government shows a willingness to negotiate with unions and there are fears the NHS will be stuck in this bleak forever position in which people entering the healthcare system are more likely to be in need of care than when they leave.’

Three leading local government organizations have written to Steve Barclay, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, urging him to “end the narrative that social services are to blame” for the bed blocking.

The Local Government Association, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services stated that they “the scale of the pressure, the urgent need to address it and the priority it is giving will, fully acknowledge the issue by the Government”.

Two floors of the Leonardo Hotel in Plymouth (pictured) are being used to house up to 40 patients from the city’s massive Derriford Hospital and others nearby

However, they add: “We are concerned about the way social care is being represented and the level of engagement with local government in national discussions about a delayed release.”

They said that social care has never been the main reason for delays in patients leaving the hospital, and “data shows that ‘simple discharges’ account for about half of all delays.”

Meanwhile, delays in ambulance handovers outside hospitals in England are now less than at this point last year, in the latest sign winter pressures on the healthcare system may have eased.

About 18 per cent of ambulance patients in England waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to emergency teams last week, NHS data shows.

The number has fallen for four straight weeks since hitting a record 44 percent in the seven days ended Jan. 1.

The delays are now lower than in the corresponding week last winter, when the proportion was 20 percent.

About 6 percent of patients waited more than an hour to be transferred to emergency teams last week, compared with 8 percent at this point in 2022.

The number of people suffering from the flu has also fallen for four consecutive weeks, and has fallen by more than three-quarters (76 percent) year-to-date.

The sharp drop in flu levels follows a spike in cases in the run-up to Christmas, which health experts described as the worst flu season in a decade.

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, representing NHS trusts, said: “The reduction in ambulance handover delays is a much-needed ray of light that reflects the tireless work of trust leaders to provide quality care to patients.

“This is significant given the endless challenges they have faced this winter, from record high job vacancies to huge seasonal stresses and escalating strikes.

“But we’re not over the hill yet.

“Leaders of trust still face the daunting task of dealing with persistently high bed occupancy – still above what is safe – and delayed layoffs.

“Last week nearly 14,000 patients who were medically able to leave the hospital were unable to leave the hospital due to investment in social care, rehabilitation and community service capacity.

“Leaders of trust do all they can for patients, but support is needed.”

An NHS spokesman said: “While funds have just been made available to improve patient discharge, NHS staff are doing everything in their power to discharge patients when they are medically able – including through innovative initiatives such as the ‘100 -Day Layoff Challenge”. resulting in a quarter reduction in hospital-related delays.

“However, social care continues to face significant challenges which inevitably have repercussions and the NHS is working closely with social care colleagues to ensure they are able to accept patients from hospital.”