Portsmouth critical incident: Number of patients at QA Hospital slows over seven-day period - but only by 0.6 per cent

Hospital trusts up and down the country are finding themselves reaching 100 per cent capacity over consecutive days, with anything more than 85 per cent widely regarded to be above the safe limit of busyness. According to the Nuffield Trust think tank, hospitals cannot operate at 100 per cent capacity as it means there is no room for new patients, patients cannot flow through emergency departments and ambulances are stuck queueing at the door.

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Data compiled by National World examined hospital capacity over a seven-day period up to January 15, and found Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust had an average occupancy rate of 95.6 per cent – 0.6 per cent lower than the previous week.

On average, 1,022 beds were occupied over the seven days, but at no point did Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham reach 100 per cent capacity. Compared with other hospitals across the country, QA’s capacity sat just below the national average of 95.7 per cent.

However, a hospital's bed capacity doesn’t necessarily correlate with its resources – although the critical incident at the hospital was stood down earlier this month, having been declared by the NHS trust on December 29.

Speaking at the time, chief nurse Liz Rix said: ‘We know that the longer a patient stays in hospital the greater the risk of deconditioning where immobility and inactivity causes muscle weakness, walking difficulty and an increased risk of falls and injury.

‘At a time when our services are really stretched the extra support patients receive from those closest to them can really help with their recovery and returning to good health and independence. Just making sure your relative or friend is home safe, will not only help them recover but help us to care for another Portsmouth person who needs a hospital bed.’

Unlike other hospitals, at no point has a patient been left waiting more than 12 hours for a hospital bed in Portsmouth.

The trust’s medical director John Knighton added: ‘Every time one patient leaves hospital it helps a further four patients move through the hospital to ensure they get the care they need in a timely way.’