NHS bed pressure risks patient safety

A new report has claimed that the shortage of NHS hospital beds is putting patients at an increased risk of infection.

The Nuffield Trust analysis of bed occupancy revealed that more than 95 per cent of beds in hospitals were used every day last winter, even though hospitals are encouraged not to exceed 85 per cent of bed occupancy.

Controlling infections and keeping everything clean can prove a problem if hospitals are too full. Research, quoted by the Nuffield Trust, has shown that as bed occupancy rises above levels of around 85 per cent to 90 per cent, the likelihood of patients suffering health care acquired infections also starts to rise.

Additionally, the 2016: Quality at a cost report also found evidence of a link between high bed occupancy and increased rates of infection.

This is not the first time such an argument has been made. Previous research, published by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, suggested that there is growing evidence that bed occupancy rates, overcrowding and understaffing influence the spread of hospital-acquired infections.

The report also warned that high levels of bed use can make patients’ experience of hospital unpleasant and disruptive, as patients are moved around to accommodate others, or placed on inappropriate wards when there are no free beds on the right ward for them.

Professor John Appleby, chief economist for the Nuffield Trust, said: “Our analysis shows just how acute the pressure on beds was last winter, with around 95 per cent of the beds in all hospitals in England occupied every day. With such high levels of bed occupancy linked to higher infection rates and longer waits in A&E, these pressures pose a real threat to the smooth running of hospitals and, ultimately, to patient safety.

“The NHS is going into this winter in an even worse position than it was a year ago, with record deficits, worse performance against the A&E target, far more trolley waits, record delayed discharges from hospital, and fewer people getting the help they need with social care.”