Mild weather likely helped local systems maintain better performance against several key winter metrics, including bed occupancy and patient length of stay, compared to the same month last winter, experts said.
NHS England praised “the hard work and preparation of NHS staff” following the encouraging holiday period data, issued today as part of the winter daily SitRep data release, published every Thursday over winter.
It is, however, too early to make a full assessment of the role NHS winter planning contributed. Providers said they were bracing themselves for cold snaps and demand spikes in the coming weeks and stressed the worst of winter pressures are most likely still to come.
Full Story: HSJ, 3rd January, 2019