The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warns of health concerns around Christmas, as new statistics out today reveal increased pressure on Emergency Departments (EDs) in England.
The second of this year’s weekly winter ‘situation reports’ from NHS England, published today (Thursday, 18 December) show that frontline staff are fighting an uphill battle to provide urgent care.
Despite flu season being a routine challenge the NHS faces every year, it has arrived earlier than usual, with more than 3,000 flu patients in general and acute (G&A) hospital beds in the second week of December.
However, the ‘sitrep’ statistics make clear the underlying problem that is making a difficult but manageable situation a lot worse – a lack of capacity and overcrowding, reflected in the high number of delayed discharges.
The figures, which cover the week ending 14 December, showed:
There was an average of 12,727 patients per day who remained in hospital despite no longer needing to.
There was a daily average of 3,005 Type 1 G&A beds occupied by flu patients. This is a 15% increase than the week before (2,551) and an 18% increase than the same week last year (2,498).
The average daily mean ambulance handover time was 31 minutes and 34 seconds, which is an improvement – six minutes lower than the previous week.
Staff absences remain stubbornly high, at with the number of daily staff absences increasing by 1,101 compared with the week before.
Dr Ian Higginson, RCEM President, said: “We are now firmly in the grip of winter and know it will get worse, as it does every year.
“With all the politics going on around the strikes it’s been easy to forget the underlying problems that face the NHS. Flu has come early but we would be able to deal with it if we weren’t in such trouble to start with.
“The government must take urgent action to help staff as they deal with winter bringing its predictable additional pressure on EDs, so they can continue providing patients with the help they need during the festive period.
“Delayed discharges are a key cause of overcrowding and long waits in EDs, and addressing this must be a priority for the government.
“These statistics arrive during the second day of the resident doctors’ strike, but what they show should not be wrapped up in that debate or blamed solely on flu.
“At the moment the main problems we are facing all year round in EDs are not the strikes themselves; they are the lack of beds for our patients and the resulting need to look after our patients in corridors while they wait for one to come up.
“We urge the government to put more focus on the back door of hospitals and support all efforts to reestablish flow, to ensure care is available where most needed.”