NHS hospitals in England are so full that a shortage of beds is putting patients at an increased risk of infection, according to a report.
An analysis of bed occupancy rates by the Nuffield Trust reveals that more than 95% of beds in hospitals were used every day last winter.
Hospitals try not to exceed 85% so that they can clean beds between patients and deal with sudden admissions rises.
NHS England said plans were in hand for maximising hospital beds this winter.
Previous research has linked a shortage of beds to long delays in emergency departments and higher infection rates.
Hospitals aim to avoid high bed occupancy rates to ensure that emergency patients can be admitted quickly.
They also don"t want patients to be moved around or placed on inappropriate wards to make room for other patients, and they need to have some slack in the system when numbers of admissions rise very quickly.
Controlling infections and keeping everything clean can also be a problem if hospitals ar..
Read More
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق