As Norfolk's hospitals face increasing pressure this winter the EDP has created a series of charts to monitor the situation within the NHS in our region.

Ambulance handover delays

This winter has seen an increase in ambulances queuing for more than 30 minutes at hospitals across Norfolk before being able to transfer their patients to staff.

This is despite 2,500 fewer ambulances arriving at Norfolk hospitals this winter (20,290) compared to the previous winter (22,915).

Ambulance handover delays dropped sharply last winter, largely due to the country being in lockdown but have returned to pre-Covid levels this winter.

While the number of delays of 30 to 60 minutes are in line with the previous winter, delays of more than one hour have increased dramatically compared to previous years.

In terms of ambulances waiting more than an hour across England, the figure has doubled compared to the winter before Covid (89,889 in 2021/22 compared to 42,877 in 2019/20) with Norfolk seeing a 92 percent increase (3,863 in 2021/22 compared to 2,006 in 2019/20).

Nationally, one in five ambulances (20 percent) have been delayed by 30 minutes or more at hospitals whereas in Norfolk that figure rises to a third of all ambulances (32 percent).


How busy are hospitals?

The lockdown of winter 2020/21 saw bed occupancy rates drop to 85 percent but this winter has seen occupancy rates return to pre-Covid levels where Norfolk's hospitals are 95 percent full.

The James Paget and Queen Elizabeth hospitals both experienced alarmingly high levels of bed occupancy this winter and almost ran out of beds with rates as high as 99 percent.


What's the situation in intensive care?

The winter of 2020/21 saw unprecedented numbers of patients - mostly those with Covid - occupying critical care beds with the total in Norfolk peaking at 90 on February 2.

This winter, numbers are back down to the mid-thirties across the county's three hospitals.


How many patients are stuck in hospital?

Delayed discharges (also known as bed-blocking) occur when patients are medically fit for discharge but support for them through social care – in their homes or in a care home – is not in place.

On the last day of the 'winter' period there were 348 patients - the equivalent of 10 wards - stuck in a bed across Norfolk's three hospitals waiting for support to be in place so that they can leave.

Both the number of patients spending a week or longer in hospital, as well as those spending three weeks or more in hospital, have been at record levels in Norfolk this winter.

The final figures on February 27 revealed that there were 902 patients who had spent more than a week in a Norfolk hospital and 335 patients who had been there for three weeks or longer.


How many staff are off work sick?

Staff absences in Norfolk continued to fall throughout the winter period from a peak of 1,400 in early January to 907 on February 28.

At the end of February one in four absences were Covid-related, compared to almost half of all absences at the beginning of the year.


How many patients are in hospital with Covid?

The number of Covid cases in Norfolk hospitals remained fairly flat throughout February with 143 Covid-positive patients occupying beds at the end of the month.

This is a similar figure to the winter of 2020/21 but the 1,630 non-Covid patients on Norfolk's hospital wards on February 28 means there were only 73 unoccupied beds compared to 211 on the same date the previous winter.