As A&E seasonal crisis continues RCEM urges government to start work now to ensure there is no repeat next winter 

Thursday 23 January 2025

Details of what the government intends to do to ‘future proof’ the NHS against further A&E winter crises cannot come soon enough as extreme seasonal pressure continues.

That’s the message from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) as new data from NHS England revealed that major hospitals in England are still dangerously close to capacity, with an average of 94.2% of beds occupied last week.

The figures, which cover 13 January – 19 January 2025, are part of NHSE’s weekly ‘situation reports’.

Released today – 23 January 2025 – they show:

• Flu numbers – although reducing – are still worryingly high with an average of 3,833 patients in hospital with the illness every day last week, some 2.5 times higher than the same time last year.
• While the peak of flu season may have passed, another of the so-called ‘quad-demic’ of viruses continues to spread with the figure for patients admitted with the winter vomiting bug, Norovirus, at its highest level for the month of January since 2020. Cases have increased by over 20% compared to last week and 80% higher than the same time last year.
• Getting people out of hospital when they no longer need to be there remained a significant issue with an average of 13,710 patient each day stuck waiting to be discharged – up from an average of 12,591 last week.

More than 10,900 beds additional beds would be needed to bring hospital occupancy down to a level considered safe (85% full).

When patients cannot be discharged, it stops the flow through the hospital and often contributes to overcrowding and long stays in EDs as people wait for beds to become free.

Dr Adrian Boyle, President of the RCEM said, “While it brings a small sigh of relief to see flu cases starting to drop, it’s concerning to see yet another winter virus surge, Norovirus – reminding us that the battle against these seasonal illnesses is far from over.

“Staff are working relentlessly, day in, day out, to deliver the best possible care they can, while patients encounter issues at every point of the system. They are stuck in ambulances and on trolleys in A&E corridors, as waiting times soar because our hospitals are full to bursting.

“Even though we are still dealing with this winter’s crisis, the sooner we start preparing for next year – reviewing what worked and what didn’t and adapting our approach – the better.

“The Health Secretary has pledged to eradicate corridor care, admitting he is ashamed of the care patients are receiving this winter – and earlier this week NHSE pledged to publish its UEC improvement plan ‘soon’.

“We all want to ensure that we never experience another awful winter.”

Just last week, the ONS published astounding data that found patients who endure a stay of 12 hours in an ED are twice as likely to die within 30 days as those treated, admitted or discharged within two hours.

Earlier this week, RCEM co-signed a list of recommendations to urgently reform Urgent and Emergency Care.

And it comes as the Royal College of Physicians also published a position statement this week calling for a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to corridor care.

It urges the NHS and governments across the UK to routinely measure and publish the prevalence of care being delivered in these areas, along with putting systems and processes in place to eliminate corridor care.