NHS Trusts Warn Coming Winter Will Be Tougher Than Previous For UK Health Care Sector

(@rukhshanmir)

NHS Trusts Warn Coming Winter Will Be Tougher Than Previous for UK Health Care Sector

The coming winter will be more difficult than the last one for the UK health care sector, given the growing staff shortages, the NHS trusts association said on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2018) The coming winter will be more difficult than the last one for the UK health care sector, given the growing staff shortages, the NHS trusts association said on Monday.

"All things considered, trusts fear that this coming winter will be more difficult than the last... Performance is in a worse position going into this winter than last. Staff shortages are growing, putting additional strain on a workforce already overstretched during an exceptionally busy summer," Saffron Cordery, the NHS Providers deputy chief executive, was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

According to the newspaper, acute hospitals had to divert over 200 patients to other accident and emergency facilities from late November to late January last winter.

Also, the bed occupancy was nearly 95 percent, which is 10 percent higher than the preferred limit needed to reduce the chances of spreading infections, the media said.

The NHS has long been struggling with funding cuts and increased pressure on hospitals, which have led to staff shortages and longer lines and delays in receiving treatment in what has been dubbed a health crisis by the opposition and watchdogs. Staff numbers have also drastically decreased due to thousands of EU nationals quitting their jobs in the sector over Brexit-related uncertainty.