Britain hospitals under mounting pressure in winter

Hospitals across Britain face rising pressure during the winter as cold weather, norovirus and flu hit the kingdom.

According to a report by the state-funded BBC on Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) issued on Friday, the number of people going to hospitals across the UK will drastically rise during the winter time.

“There are more patients. Visits to A&E (Accident and Emergency departments) topped 436,000 last week – that is nearly 30,000 more than the same week the year before,” the report read.
Although the government has pumped extra money into the NHS, the country’s A&E departments are still beset with different problems, the report added.

According to the NHS codes, the A&E departments in British hospitals are required to tend to patients in just four hours.

However, the BBC report indicates that the optimal waiting time target is not met in many places.

“The latest [figures], for the first week of December, show 91.8% of patients were seen in four hours – the worst performance since April 2013,” stated the report.
The chief executive of the NHS Confederation confirms the mounting pressure on the country’s health system.

“While the winter brings its own challenges, our members regularly tell us that it is ‘winter all year round’ with pressures being experienced regardless of the time of year,” said Rob Webster.

In November and October, Britain’s NHS workers staged mass walkouts over their salaries, saying their payment is largely incompatible with the pressure of their jobs.