Full story in The Guardian, 16 November 2017
The NHS is in an “extremely challenging” position with winter approaching because hospitals have failed to free up enough beds, the health service regulator has warned.
Hospitals are missing key waiting time targets and ending up in the red because wards remain so full they cannot admit new patients, NHS Improvement (NHSI) said.
As a result this winter is likely to prove “difficult” for hospitals, it added, in what constituted an ominous warning about the ability of the NHS to cope with increased illness in its busiest months of the year.