Ambulance handover delays are down, and hospital mattress availability is rising, in response to the newest NHS figures.
In a new low for this winter interval, 20% of ambulance sufferers waited at the least half-hour final week to be handed over to accident and emergency groups – down from 23% within the week earlier than.
It reached a excessive of 44% within the week to 1 January.
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The variety of sufferers ready greater than an hour to be handed over hit 7% – down from 9% the week earlier than.
Despite the optimistic transfer, the information remains to be worse presently of yr than another yr there may be information for.
More than 13,500 hospital beds in England final week had been crammed with individuals who had been match to depart, though the quantity is down on latest report ranges.
An common of 13,566 beds had been taken up with medically match sufferers within the seven days to 22 January, down from 14,036 the earlier week and an all-time excessive of 14,069 within the week to eight January.
At this level final yr, the quantity stood at 12,819.
On flu sufferers, the quantity in hospital has dropped by two-thirds because the earlier week, with a median of two,034 folks in a mattress every day final week – down 63%.
However, that is an enormous year-on-year rise. Last yr’s determine was simply 36.
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Saffron Cordery, the interim chief government at NHS Providers, the membership organisation for NHS trusts in England, praised the “remarkable progress” made in decreasing handover delays, however warned there may be nonetheless “relentless” stress on pressing and emergency care companies.
“As trust leaders prepare for the biggest NHS staff walkout in less than two weeks, they are having to grapple with unsafe levels of bed occupancy, with 93.8% of general and acute ward beds taken up each day last week,” she mentioned.
“Patients are staying longer in hospital than they were this time last year, often because their illnesses are more serious, while delayed discharge remains very high. This is partly due to the lack of investment in capacity in social care and community services.
“All of those stresses are impacting care proper by way of the system, together with ambulances, hospital A&Es, psychological well being and group companies.”
There were also fewer NHS staff absences in the week to 22 January than any other this winter.
49,260 staff were absent each day on average, compared with more than 60,000 through the middle of December and 52,960 last week.
4,144 (8.4%) were because of COVID – the lowest it’s been this winter.
It was 8,029 (12.7%) in the week to Christmas Day (the highest it’s been this year), and 5,077 (9.6%) last week.
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Professor Julian Redhead, NHS England national clinical director for urgent and emergency care, said: “These new figures present that whereas there have been enhancements in ambulance handovers and fewer flu sufferers in hospital, the NHS stays below vital stress.
“Last week saw more people being taken to A&E by ambulance, bed occupancy is still constrained, and illnesses like flu and norovirus are still a very real concern.
“The NHS has completed intensive preparation for this winter, together with rolling out further beds, a nationwide falls companies and nationwide 24/7 management centres to trace and handle demand, and NHS employees are working flat-out to proceed to offer the perfect look after our sufferers within the face of ongoing pressures.”
The information comes amid waves of strike motion within the NHS, with tens of 1000’s of employees anticipated to take industrial motion on 6 February, in what’s more likely to be the most important day of strikes ever for the service.
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Source: information.sky.com”