Responding to the latest NHS England Urgent and Emergency Care Daily Situation Report, RCN Director for England, Patricia Marquis, said:
“On the Prime Minister’s 100th day in office — and the day the RCN hands in a 100,000-strong petition to Downing Street calling for fair pay for nursing — data shows how the NHS is deteriorating rapidly on his watch.
“Increasing numbers of patients are stuck in hospital who are medically fit enough to be discharged, while bed occupancy in adult general and acute care is at an alarming 95% — around 10% higher than levels deemed safe.
“These figures come just days after the announcement of the urgent and emergency care plan and demonstrate the scale of the task ahead.
“This crisis in the NHS is now year-round, not just in winter, and has left patients being treated in corridors and staff facing relentless pressures.
“The solution from ministers always seems to be more beds and more clinics but they ignore the need to invest in the nursing workforce that patient care deserves.
“Nurses will take to picket lines once again next week to make the case that paying nurses fairly is the same as investing in patient care. The Prime Minister can change this today and come to the table to speak about pay. We have reached out to him — it is time he did the same for nursing.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
NHS England data published today shows:
Last week on average 13,983 patients remained in hospital despite no longer meeting the criteria to reside. The previous week the figure stood at 13,566. Compared to the same week last year, there was a 14% increase in the number of people staying in hospital every day last week despite no longer meeting the criteria to stay (from 12,257 to 13,983).
For the week commencing 23 January 2023, the daily average Adult General and Acute Bed Occupancy remained at 95%. This is well above the 85% recognised by the National Audit Office and the Royal College for Emergency Medicine for hospitals to work safely and effectively.
