In January this year, there were 8 days when there were no free beds in Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust hospitals, covering Wiltshire, new figures show.
In January this year, there were 8 days when there were no free beds in Great Western Hospitals NHS Trust hospitals, covering Wiltshire, new figures show.
Anne Snelgrove: Ministers must act and ensure all hospitals have enough beds and staff to cope.
This is part of a national picture where 1 in 3 hospitals ran out of beds in January. To ensure that patients are safely treated, it is recommended that hospitals should only reach a maximum of 85% capacity.
On the 8 days in Wiltshire, the figures show that all of the hospital’s standard beds, as well as all extra emergency beds, were full.
Anne Snelgrove, Labour’s candidate for South Swindon, said: “These extraordinary figures paint a picture of hospitals in crisis. Too many A&Es reached bursting point and turned away patients to cope with the pressure. Hospitals are still sailing dangerously close to the wind. This is especially worrying in Swindon, where I was recently told by a local doctor that there are currently 27 vacancies for family doctors in Swindon, and have submitted a Freedom of Information request to NHS England to verify this number.”
This is a warning sign that cannot go ignored. Ministers must act on this and ensure all hospitals have enough beds and staff to cope.”
Andy Burnham MP, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: "The Government should accept Labour's five point plan to bring A&Es back up to acceptable standards. We will rescue the NHS with a £2.5 billion a year Time to Care fund – on top of Tory spending plans – to fund new staff, including 20,000 more nurses and 8,000 more GPs."