The NHS is urging hospitals to vacate patient beds before strikes begin
Britain’s top health officials on Friday urged hospitals to free up as many beds as possible by safely removing patients before ambulance crews go on strike.
British news agency BA Media said NHS chief operating officer Sir David Sloman had warned of “widespread difficulties” during what it described as “a very difficult period”.
Ambulance crews in England are due to go on a two-day strike on December 21 and 28 to demand higher wages.
The agency quoted Sloman as saying, in a joint letter with the national medical director, Professor Stephen Boyce, and chief nursing officer, Ruth May, to the UK National Health Service’s health funds and integrated care councils, that measures should also be put in place to ensure that patients are transported by ambulance in a period not exceeding 15 minutes.
NHS data on Thursday revealed delays in moving patients by ambulance to hospitals in England have reached a new high, with one in six patients last week waiting over an hour to be handed over to teams of emergency and emergency reception. Just over one in three had to wait at least 30 minutes and these numbers are higher than ever in recent winters.
