As the NHS faces unprecedented pressures, concerns have been raised that hospital-acquired infections will rise and patient safety will be compromised.
On average, across the whole of last winter, around 95% of the almost 100,000 available beds in England were occupied, even with all the extra escalation beds pressed into service. The situation for 2017 looks even bleaker, according to a leading think tank. As the NHS faces unprecedented pressures, concerns have been raised that hospitalacquired infections will rise and patient safety will be compromised.
The Nuffield Trust has warned that pressure on NHS beds could compromise patient safety. The think tank found that the pressure was so acute that, on any given day last winter, the equivalent of more than five extra hospitals’ worth of beds had to be brought into service to cope with surges in demand.1 On the single busiest day last winter, an extra 4,390 beds had to be opened, equivalent to more than seven extra hospitals in one day. Furthermore, on average, over 95% of beds across English hospitals were occupied every day last winter – despite evidence that once bed occupancy rates exceed 85%-90%, there is an increasing risk of infection.2 Given that pressures on the health service have not lessened over the last 12 months, Trusts will face similarly high bed occupancy rates this year.
The Winter Insight Briefing explains that high bed occupancy rates are a real problem for both patients and staff in the NHS:
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