Responding to the latest NHS England winter performance data
RCN Executive Director for England Patricia
Marquis said:
“This record-breaking winter has pushed nursing staff to the
edge. Surging viruses have exposed workforce shortages and a lack
of beds, whilst an underfunded social care sector is prevented
from working with hospitals to discharge patients well enough to
leave. Nursing staff entered this winter off the busiest summer
ever. They are tired, understaffed and need support from
ministers.
“Without new investment from government, patients will continue
to be admitted to hospital only to be treated in corridors in
unsafe and undignified conditions. When the health secretary says
he cannot guarantee it will not be the same next winter, it is
little wonder that so many new members of staff are becoming sick
with stress.
“Nursing staff need to know there is light at the end of the
tunnel. The government's forthcoming 10-Year Plan must deliver
the detail and funding to turn nursing and health and care
services around.”
Ends
Notes to editors
Data from NHS England shows
- An average 1,160 patients a day were in hospital with
norovirus last week -a 22% surge on the previous week (948) and
more than double the same period last year (509).
- Pressure on hospital capacity remained high last week with
95.4% of adult beds occupied, and a total of 97,152 patients in
hospital each day.
- Delays discharging patients to settings like social or
community care continued to have an impact on capacity, with
almost 1 in 7 beds (13,767) taken up by patients who did not need
to be there.
- Flu levels in hospitals in England have fallen for the sixth
week in a row. An average of 1,755 flu patients were in beds each
day last week, including 87 in critical care.
- This is down 14% from 2,039 the previous week, when 96 were
in critical care.
