Latest data suggests, pressure eased on hospitals in Bucks over Christmas

Latest NHS Digital data suggests pressure on NHS hospitals in Bucks eased over Christmas.

Statistics accurate up to Boxing Day show that fewer patients were occupying critical care beds in Buckinghamshire NHS Trust facilities.

Also, fewer NHS staff missed work, for reasons other than Covid in the county in the lead-up to Christmas.

Most recent figures show that 44% of adult critical beds at hospitals in the county are in use which represents a 17% fall from the week prior.

NHS data also revealed that fewer Covid positive people in Bucks were checked into hospitals during the same time period.

During that week, the average number of NHS staff that have called in absent has dropped from 304 to 284 people.

However, the number of hospital staff members in Bucks who missed work due to Covid has increased.

Over seven days, NHS Digital data shows 24 more people had to miss work as they were self-isolating, the number jumped up from an average of 98 to 122.

Ambulance handover times that exceeded 30 minutes in Bucks halved over Christmas.

Going from 12% of all ambulance callouts down to 6%, the data measures not just journeys, but also incidents when patients may be in hospital, but yet to see A&E staff.

Out of 448 journeys, just 20 exceeded 30 minutes turnover time, while 10 patients had to wait for over an hour to see staff on emergency wards.

The expectation is that handovers starting from ambulance pickups, to reaching staff within the hospital, should not exceed 15 minutes.