AS THE colder weather takes its toll on the health of the nation, we have looked into how well Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust is coping with winter pressures.

During winter, NHS England publishes weekly reports which give insight into how well hospital trusts are managing – looking at ambulance delays, bed occupancy and long stays in hospitals.

But how did Salisbury Trust handle the week from January 20 to 26?

Ambulance waits

During that week, 277 patients were brought by ambulance to A&E at the trust. The busiest day was Tuesday, when 46 patients arrived.

Over the week, six arrivals waited 30 minutes or more to be transferred to the emergency department – despite NHS guidelines saying all patients should be transferred within 15 minutes.

Bed availability

General and acute wards at the trust were 95.4 per cent full on average last week – significantly above the 85 per cent rate the British Medical Association suggests should not be exceeded to ensure safe patient care.

The occupancy rate was lower than the 98.8 per cent recorded the previous week.

Above 92 per cent, NHS Improvement says that deterioration in A&E performance begins to accelerate.

Salisbury Trust was full to capacity on one day last week, and more than 92 per cent full every day.

On average, the trust had 441 beds available to use each day last week, including 32 escalation beds, which are used in emergencies and periods of high demand. Just 20 beds were free on an average day.

Long-stay patients

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, hospital staff are being encouraged to reduce lengthy hospital stays for patients recovering from an operation or illness. NHS England says the move is aimed at improving care options and freeing up 7,000 beds nationally – the equivalent of 15 large hospitals.

On Sunday, 210 patients had been in hospital for seven days or more at Salisbury Trust. They accounted for 52 per cent of all beds occupied. Occupying 25 per cent of beds, 100 patients had been in hospital for three weeks or longer.

Norovirus

Norovirus, also called the winter vomiting bug, causes vomiting and diarrhoea. As it is contagious, staff can close beds in hospital wards to prevent it spreading. When the disease was at its peak at Salisbury Trust last week, five beds were closed.

Commenting on the situation across the country’s hospitals, an NHS spokesperson said: “NHS services continue to experience pressures, but despite that there were fewer ambulance diverts and handover delays and more beds available than the same week last year. “