NHS cracks down on mental health patients being sent out of area

Mental health trusts are being forced as part of an NHS England crackdown to reveal how many patients they are sending elsewhere for treatment because they have too few beds. Click here to read newspaper article

Preparing for winter

The Preparing for winter guidance from the Royal College of Physicians covers the delivery of care, patient flow, wellbeing of the workforce and minimising unnecessary hospital occupancy.

NHS hospital bed numbers: past, present, future

Briefing from the King's Fund on NHS hospital bed numbers:

• The total number of NHS hospital beds in England, including general and acute, mental illness, learning disability, maternity and day-only beds, has more than halved over the past 30 years, from around 299,000 to 142,000, while the number of patients treated has increased significantly.
• Most other advanced health care systems have also reduced bed numbers in recent years. However, the UK currently has fewer acute beds relative to its population than almost any other comparable health system.

Community and inpatient mental health services in England and Wales up to 2016

The number of acute inpatient beds for adults with mental health problems in England and Wales fell by 15% between 2012/13 and 2015/16 while specialist community mental health services also reduced by about 6%, according to a new briefing published today by Centre for Mental Health with the NHS Benchmarking Network. Click here for news item by Centre for Mental Health

Simon Stevens: Cut DTOCs to prepare for possible flu outbreak

Freeing up delayed transfer of care beds will be vital to ensuring the NHS has enough capacity to manage winter pressures and a possible flu outbreak, Simon Stevens has warned.

To obtain this article please copy and paste the post into an email and send it to libraryw@uhcw.nhs.uk with the subject line, Please obtain this article.

Plans to improve NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment processes

This letter, from NHS England, outlines revised guidance in relation to NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments in order to promote a reduction in delayed transfers of care.

The reduction in Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOCs) is a key priority for the NHS, with delays needing to reduce from approximately 6,428 per day to 4,080 per day in order to release the needed bed capacity within health systems. It is estimated that resolution of the factors causing delays due to NHS CHC assessment could help free up to a quarter of the total number of beds the NHS is required to release

Sustainability and Transformation Plans: five key questions for planners

This analysis from the Centre for Health and the Public Interest identifies five key questions to ask of each of England’s 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plans. It aims to set out a framework for assessing their potential impacts.

BMA analysis shows that NHS patients endured one of the worst winters on record, with year-round crisis set to become the norm

The BMA is warning that the NHS in England is unlikely to recover from the pressure it faces during the winter, with trends suggesting that the health system is entering a state of year-round crisis.

The analysis of NHS performance data shows that bed occupancy, delayed transfers of care and A&E waiting times are all increasing and that key performance targets are consistently not being met across the health system.

Pilot trusts using real-time technology to increase bed capacity

Five NHS providers will be piloting new technology that uses 'fitbit' style bracelets to track beds, staff and patients, giving trusts real-time information on bed status, patient pathway tracking and asset management.

The real-time technology, called TeleTracking Technologies, detects electronic badges and bracelets attached to patients, staff and equipment. It provides staff with visibility to all beds, patients, assets and equipment across their trust. Similar to air traffic control centres, staff have a real-time view of:

• bed status
• which patients need to be allocated to a bed
• where specific types of equipment are
• the nearest housekeeping or portering staff available to clean a bed or help transport a patient

New patient care test for hospital bed closures

NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens has announced that hospital bed closures arising from proposed major service reconfigurations will in future only be supported where a new test is met that ensures patients will continue to receive high quality care.

Quarterly Performance of the Provider Sector as at 31 December 2016

This NHS Improvement publication brings together data on the performance of NHS providers over quarter three of 2016/17. If finds that the demand for emergency treatment coupled with a significant reduction in bed available has led to providers collectively underperforming against several key health care standards.

State of the Health System: Beds in the NHS

This paper from the BMA presents NHS bed data from across the UK and it examines the causes and consequences of bed pressures within the health system.

Nuffield Winter Insight: Winter Bed Pressures

This Nuffield Trust briefing is the first in a series looking closely at some of the big issues behind pressure on the NHS in winter months. This briefing focuses on the findings of a new analysis of bed occupancy levels from NHS England situation reports for last winter.

Bed Availability and Occupancy Data – Overnight

NHS England has published statistics which show that the percentage of beds occupied in wards open overnight has now reached over 89% in the second quarter (July-September) of 2016-17. Last year’s equivalent figure was 87%.

Health experts advise that occupancy levels should ideally be under 85% although this has become increasingly difficult to attain. Anything over this level is regarded as riskier for patients as this leads to bed shortages, periodic bed crises, and a rise in healthcare-acquired infections such as MRSA. 

NHS Indicators: England, July 2016

Latest statistical data including:

• Waiting times for routine treatment
• Cancer waiting times
• Cancelled operations
• Delayed transfer of care
• Diagnostic tests: activity and waiting times
• Hospital activity
• Bed availability and occupancy