One in ten hospitals had no free beds at times in the first week of December and eight had to turn away ambulances, NHS England figures showed. Beds were about 94 per cent full, well into the “red zone” where safety is at risk. Last January doctors warned that patients were dying in corridors and Jeremy Hunt, health secretary at the time, described it as the worst winter for the NHS. Hospital chiefs are increasingly worried that this winter will be even worse as a promised £20 billion budget boost arrives too late. A&E figures for last month, released yesterday, showed…

Source: The Times December 13, 2018 17:03 UTC