Hundreds of children’s hospital beds have been closed amid a surge in winter a respiratory virus, new data shows.
An average of 133 children’s beds were closed last week due to outbreaks of respiratory viruses, which is more than five times higher than last year.
Children’s critical care beds were almost 90 per cent full according to the latest NHS data – seven per cent higher than last year.
It comes as winter virus cases in hospitals are rapidly increasing and putting pressure on NHS beds, with a 40 per cent increase in flu admissions in just one week.
NHS medical director Stephen Powis warned the “new figures show the NHS is facing a perfect storm with winter virus cases rapidly increasing alongside ongoing pressures in emergency care, hugely constrained bed capacity, while hospitals continue to contend with more patients coming in than going out, with thousands of patients every day in hospital who are medically fit for discharge.”
According to public health data prevalence of RSV virus had increased to 11.7 per cent accross the UK, in the week of 24 November with the highest rates among under five year olds at 33.2 per cent.
The data, published by UK Health Security Agency shows as of 24 November hospitalisations for RSV in under five year olds were the highest they’ve been all year.
Hospitals are forced to close wards when they have too many patients with infectious viruses such as RSV and the latest figures suggest outbreaks are far worse this year compared to last.
Speaking with The Independent a senior paeditrician said: “Everything has been terrible since August, capacity has been awful since August. It’s never going to get better, basically. Now, pretty much most practically speaking most of the [Paeditatric Intensive Care Units] will not be able to take elective surgery, because they just won’t have the capacity. But also wards won’t have space. So there will be a real challenge to get children in for elective work that requires inpatient admission.
He said although during winter it is usually difficult to continue elective care for children that it would be worse this year.
The latest NHS bed figures are included in the second weekly snapshot of how hospitals are performing this season – and they already suggest that pressures are getting worse.
An analysis of the figures by Ben Zarenko, economist for the Institute of Fiscal Studies found the number of patients waiting in hospital beds to be discharged for more than three weeks was the highest it has been for the past five years.
The data shows increasing pressures 11,000 patients last week waited more than an hour in ambulances outside of A&E, while more than 13,000 patients a day were stuck in hospitals waiting to be discharged.
Nearly one in three patients arriving at hospitals in England by ambulance last week waited at least 30 minutes to be handed over to A&E teams, the new figures show.
The ambulance numbers are higher than at any point last winter, and up on the levels reported for the previous week.
More to follow…
Kaynak: briturkish.com