© GRAPHIC NEWS

© GRAPHIC NEWS

© GRAPHIC NEWS

Graphic compares UK hospital bed capacity to those of its EU neighbours.
GN34993EN

HEALTH

Britain’s National Health Service in crisis

By Ninian Carter

January 11, 2017 - Doctors and nurses in the UK have expressed concerns over hospital conditions, which they describe as being the worst they have ever seen.

Figures compiled by NHS Improvement, one of the health regulators in England, show that this winter is proving to be the most difficult for more than a decade.

Performance started deteriorating markedly in the first week of the new year with 22% of patients waiting longer than four hours to be seen in A&E (Accident and Emergency).

Dangerously high levels of bed occupancy were reported with 94.7% of beds full -- well above the “safe” threshold of 85%.

The British NHS has 2.7 hospital beds per 1,000 people, according to Eurostat. Germany leads Europe in hospital bed capacity with 8.2 beds per 1,000 inhabitants, while Lithuania follows with 7.6 beds.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 11/01/2017; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
Advertisement