NHS summer crisis: Hospital suspends all inpatient surgery for three weeks over bed shortages

A hospital in Yorkshire has suspended all routine inpatient surgeries amid overcrowding in A&E caused by a lack of beds. Staff at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust were told in an email that this had been a "critical issue for too long."

“It is with regret that this decision has had to be made given that it will result in less patients receiving surgical treatment, slowing down our progress on reducing waiting times. However, the extreme pressure on beds has to be reduced and quickly. The trust consistently has between 25 and 50 patients waiting for a bed at any one time at Pinderfields emergency department, causing serious overcrowding and long delays [and] contributing to an unacceptable patient and staff experience.” Martin Barkley, chief executive of the trust, told staff.

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Source: The Independent, 14 August 2021