‘Breaking point' for NHS after 'one of worst winters'

The British Medical Association (BMA) is warning that the NHS is at ‘breaking point’ after hospitals in England ‘endured one of the worst winters on record’.

The association’s latest analysis of NHS performance in England scrutinised bed capacity, waiting times and hospitals' ability to cope with patient numbers, and said that the findings were ‘startling’.

Among the findings, the BMA reports that bed occupancy on general and acute wards in English hospitals was the highest figure recorded at 91.4 per cent for the first three months of this year, while the end of 2016 found a record occupancy of beds for mental health patients, with 89.7 per cent of beds filled.

Bed occupancy, delayed transfers of care and waits at A&E were all increasing, with the BMA reporting that there has been a 6,831 per cent rise in the number of patients waiting more than 12 hours on a trolley since 2010. Additionally, 94 of 152 NHS Foundation Trusts issued major alerts on at least one day between December 2016 and the middle of March this year to say they could not cope.

Dr Mark Porter, BMA council chairman, said: “The pressure the NHS is under is purely down to bad political choices, with years of chronic underfunding and investment in services failing to keep up with patient demand. Politicians are consistently missing their own targets across the health system and the NHS is clearly at breaking point.

"Pressures previously only seen during the winter months are now becoming the norm year-round, as current trends suggest that performance will continue to deteriorate rather than improve."