Near-record numbers of medically-fit patients are in English hospitals unable to be discharged, figures show. However, ambulance handover delays outside A&Es have improved.
Health leaders warned that emergency services are facing “alarming levels of stress” and that more beds were “desperately needed”. The figures come as nurses across England took industrial action for a second consecutive day in an ongoing dispute over pay, with further strikes planned for February, reports PA.
The NHS advised anyone seriously injured or ill to phone 999, but to call 111 or visit the 111 website for non-urgent care. An average of 14,036 beds last week were taken up by patients who were fit to leave, down slightly from an all-time high of 14,069 the previous week, according to NHS England.
