Beds in the red at Blackpool Victoria Hospital as patient occupancy levels soar to 96%

Bed occupancy at the Vic has been in the red since November 29, as patient numbers have exceeded the 85 per cent threshold every week, meaning it is considered too busy by national standards.

More than 90 per cent of acute and general beds at the hospital have been occupied every week except for December 20 to 26, when numbers fell to 87.4 per cent.

The highest occupancy levels were reported just last week, when 96.1 per cent of the hospital’s 712 beds were filled.

A Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: “The impact of the Omicron variant combined with traditional winter pressures has led to very high demand for services for some time. We have seen long waiting times in our emergency department, challenges in discharging patients who no longer need to be in hospital and very high levels of bed occupancy. High rates of Covid-19 in our communities and the impact on colleagues being absent due to illness and self-isolation has added to the pressures.

“The team at Blackpool continues to retain patient safety as the top priority and are focused every day on ensuring effective patient flow around our hospitals to free up capacity to respond to both emergency admissions and elective activity.”

Blackpool Vic is not the only hospital struggling to keep up with patient demand, as hospitals nationwide continue to overrun the 85 per cent mark.

The Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust reported occupancy levels exceeding 90 per cent every week since November 29.

Meanwhile, the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Trust was operating at 100 per cent capacity for three weeks during the winter period.

The Blackpool spokesman added: “While the NHS as a whole remains very busy we would urge the public to do everything they can to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, ensuring they are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, following guidance around social distancing, wearing masks where appropriate and hand-washing or sanitisation as often as possible.

“Where people do have concerns about their health, we would encourage them to come forward, using NHS 111 to determine the most appropriate service for their needs and only attending our very busy accident and emergency departments for genuine emergencies.”

NHS national medical director Professor Stephen Powis said: “While seasonal pressures are ongoing, we are now beginning to see the full picture of the Omicron winter on the NHS, and despite sky-high staff absences, hardworking NHS staff continued to make inroads on the backlog that has inevitably built up and delivered 120,000 more tests and checks in December compared to the same time last year.

“Hardworking staff also responded to the government’s call to protect the nation from the new Omicron variant, delivering over 13 million lifesaving booster jabs in December alone – providing lifesaving protection to millions of people at speed.

“While pressures remain for our staff with the highest number of life-threatening ambulance call outs and 111 calls for the month of January, NHS staff are committed to bringing down the backlog and the clear plan published this week will help increase the number of checks, tests and treatment provided for patients."

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