Hospitals bed occupancy rates still high

NHS England has revealed that bed occupancy rates are still high, with last week's number the second highest of the winter.

In the week ending 15 January, 95.7 per cent of beds on general and acute hospital wards were occupied.

More than 14,000 beds were occupied by patients who did not need to be in hospital. This is the second highest ever recorded and 12 per cent higher than the same time last year.

3447 beds were occupied by patients with flu, though this number has gone down.

NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “These figures show that the NHS remains under significant pressure – with near record highs of people in hospital who are medically fit to leave and a high number of beds occupied in hospitals across England.

“The NHS has done extensive preparation for this winter – rolling out extra beds, falls services and nationwide 24/7 control centres to track and manage demand.

“The public can also help by using the best services for their condition – 999 in an emergency and otherwise 111 online, and there is still time to getting vaccinations if eligible.”