NHS pressures: What's happening at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust?

The NHS in England is under increasing pressure, with record waiting lists, extended ambulance delays and rocketing flu patient numbers just some of the challenges facing the service.
File photo dated 14/03/20 of a body temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius is recorded on a tympanic thermometer. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued back-to-school advice amid high levels of flu, Covid-19 and invasive Strep A disease (iGas). The advice includes simple steps that can minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings as well as the wider community. Issue date: Monday January 2, 2023.File photo dated 14/03/20 of a body temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius is recorded on a tympanic thermometer. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued back-to-school advice amid high levels of flu, Covid-19 and invasive Strep A disease (iGas). The advice includes simple steps that can minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings as well as the wider community. Issue date: Monday January 2, 2023.
File photo dated 14/03/20 of a body temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius is recorded on a tympanic thermometer. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued back-to-school advice amid high levels of flu, Covid-19 and invasive Strep A disease (iGas). The advice includes simple steps that can minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings as well as the wider community. Issue date: Monday January 2, 2023.

The NHS in England is under increasing pressure, with record waiting lists, extended ambulance delays and rocketing flu patient numbers just some of the challenges facing the service.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made addressing the strain on the NHS one of his five pledges in his first major speech of 2023.

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Here is the situation at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust:

Flu patients

The latest NHS England figures show there were no flu patients being treated by Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust as of January 1 – in line with the week before.

This is the same as at the start of the winter on November 14.

But across England, flu cases have risen considerably.

An average of 5,105 flu patients were in general hospital beds in the week to January 1, up 47% on the previous week and almost 15 times the number seen between November 14 and 20.

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Flu patients in critical care beds have also jumped sharply, up 26% week-on-week from 267 to 336.

Health research centre the King's Fund said: "The NHS was struggling before the rise in flu cases, so there is a lot more needed in resources, funding and investment so that services can deal with the same problems should they arise in the future."

It also encouraged people to take the flu vaccine, which has not been universally taken up by those entitled to the free jab.

Sarah Scobie, deputy director of health think tank the Nuffield Trust, said flu cases were especially high in the week before Christmas and suggested they may have peaked this winter, though it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions.

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"There are still difficult weeks ahead for the NHS, as the system struggles to discharge patients from hospital in a timely way," Ms Scobie added.

Bed occupancy

As of January 1, 51% of the 111 beds across adult and paediatric general and acute wards at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust were occupied.

Of the occupied beds, 51 were for adults beds and six for children.

A further two of eight critical care beds were occupied.

NHS national medical director for England Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: "We knew this winter would be one of the most difficult in the history of the NHS and I want to thank staff for all their hard work in caring for and treating so many patients while dealing with record demand on services, including the enormous pressure from flu and Covid.

"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."