Responding to the latest weekly performance report from NHS England, Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, said:
"At the sharp end of the NHS every day, nurses, doctors and other front line staff give brilliant care to millions of patients, but as these figures show all too clearly, many are now struggling to deliver the safe, high-quality care they are desperate to provide.
"The NHS is grateful to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister for their continued commitment to the NHS and we share their ambition for a transformed service by 2030. But we need to be honest about the state of things now, which is not all bad, but also not all good. Importantly, we need to acknowledge that it will take time to turns things around.
"Many of the answers lie in training and recruiting more staff, developing new services in the community, and joining up different parts of the system. None of these can be conjured up overnight.
"For now, most of our members fear this could be the worst winter on record and it does seem likely that things will get tougher for staff and for patients over the next few weeks. Most people are very understanding as staff have to give priority to the most acutely ill, and we should thank them for their patience – in the coming period, we will also need that same quality from our politicians."
Key figures:
Standards have deteriorated again. Although there were six fewer A&E diverts than last year, this is not statistically significant when set in the context of the wider performance.
Bed closures due to D&V/norovirus have doubled since last year.
>60 minute ambulance delays more than doubled.
A&E Diverts
2019
There were 24 A&E diverts from 9-15 December 2019
2018
There were 30 A&E diverts from 10-16 December 2018
Ambulance arrivals & delays
9-15 December 2019:
Total A&E attendances – 99,958
30-60 minute delays – 11,785
>60minutes delays – 4,469
10-16 December 2018:
Total A&E attendances – 96,284
30-60 minute delays – 7,866
>60 minutes delays – 1,491
Attendances were higher by 3,674 in 2019 compared to the same period in 2018
There were 3,919 more delays of 30-60 minutes in 2019 than 2018
There were 2,978 more delays of 60 minutes or more in 2019 than 2018
Overall – Ambulance delays were higher this year than the same period last year
Long stay bed occupancy
9-15 December 2019:
>7 days – 294,105
>14 days – 169,785
>21 days – 107,534
10-16 December 2018:
>7 days – 280,906
>14 days – 160,889
>21 days – 102,120
Bed occupancy was higher in >7, >14 and >21 days.
For >7 days, it was higher by 13,199
For >14 days, it was higher by 8,896
For >21 days, it was higher by 5,414
Bed closures
There were 7,272 beds closed due to D&V/norovirus like symptoms 9-15 December 2019.
There were 3,358 beds closed due to D&V/norovirus like symptoms 10-16 December 2018.
This is an increase of 3,914 in 2019 on 2018.