'Enormous pressure' on Mid Yorks hospitals as nearly all beds taken

It comes after hospital bosses Wakefield and Leeds issued a crisis warning at the end of December.

Hospital bosses said A&E departments were experiencing “extremely high levels of demand” as Covid, flu and staff shortages piled more pressure onto buckling NHS services.

At Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which includes Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, a total of 968 out of 1,040 beds were taken - an occupancy rate of 93%.

NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said rising cases flu and Covid in England was putting hospitals under significant strain.

"The plans we announced last autumn will help ensure we are in the best place possible to provide care for patients at this incredibly challenging time, with extra call handlers in place, community services established to help keep people out of hospital where possible and we’re also continuing to make good progress to put the equivalent of 7,000 extra beds in place by March.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the Government "recognised" the pressures the NHS was facing.

“This includes investing an additional £500 million to speed up the safe discharge of patients from hospital, creating the equivalent of 7,000 more beds nationally and establishing 24/7 data driven system control centres in every local area to manage demand and capacity.

Mid Yorks Hospitals Trust said they are working closely with patients and families to discharge patients as quickly as possible once they are medically fit to leave hospital-level care.

"We currently have a number of patients in our beds who don’t require hospital care. We understand it can be complex making sure patients have the right support in place out of hospital.

"Our staff are on hand to advise and we are working closely with our local authority partners to support people in this situation.

"However, it is not possible for patients to remain in our hospitals that don’t need hospital-level care because we do not have sufficient capacity, especially given the high numbers of patients we also have coming into our hospitals. So we would ask patients and families to work with us around discharge.”