Statistical press notice: Monthly critical care beds, cancelled urgent operations and delayed transfers of care data, England – July 2012
The main findings for July 2012 were: Critical Care Beds There were 3,719 adult critical care beds available with 3,017 occupied, giving…
The main findings for July 2012 were:
Critical Care Beds
- There were 3,719 adult critical care beds available with 3,017 occupied, giving an occupancy rate of 81.1%. This is lower than the occupancy rates observed in the past six months but is slightly higher than July 2011, where the figure was 79.5%
- There were 409 paediatric critical care beds available and 309 occupied, giving an occupancy rate of 75.6%. This is higher than July 2011, where the figure was 70.7%, but lower than rates seen over winter, where Paediatric critical care occupancy rates are usually higher.
- There were 1,368 neo-natal critical care beds available and 985 occupied, giving an occupancy rate of 72.0%. This is higher than July 2011, where the figure was 70.4%. Neo-natal critical care occupancy rates have been fairly stable over the past year, ranging between 70.4% and 76.4%.
Table 1 shows Critical Care Bed Occupancy rates since August 2010.
Details of critical care data for individual organisations
Cancelled Urgent Operations
- The number of urgent operations cancelled was 320, which compares to 273 in June 2012 and 203 in July 2011. Cancelled urgent operations have ranged between 254 and 365 in the past 6 months.
Table 2 shows information on urgent operations cancelled from August 2010 to July 2012.
Details of cancelled urgent operations data for individual organisations
Data on cancelled elective operations
Delayed Transfers of Care
- There were 4,042 patients delayed atmidnighton the last Thursday of the month, of which 2,398 were acute patients.
- There were 117,476 total delayed days during the month, of which 69,959 were acute. 66% of all delays were attributable to the NHS, 27% were attributable to Social Care and 7% where both agencies were responsible.
- The main reason for NHS delays was “patients awaiting further non-acute NHS care”, this accounted for 31% of all NHS delays. The main reason for Social Care delays was “patients awaiting a residential home placement or availability”, this accounted for 27% of all Social Care delays. Where both the NHS and Social Care are attributable, the major reason for delay was “patients awaiting completion of assessment”.
- The distribution of delays between the reasons for DTOC remains broadly similar compared to a year ago (July 2011). However, there has been an increase in delays caused by patients waiting for further non-acute NHS care and delays caused by patient or family choice (3,496 and 2,115 more delayed days respectively).
- There has also been a slight decrease (one percentage point reduction in the share of delays) for delays caused by patients waiting for the completion of assessment, public funding, a residential home placement or availability and care package in their own home.
Table 2 shows information on delayed transfers of care from August 2010 to July 2012. Table 3 shows the number of delayed transfers of care by type of care, reason for delay and responsible organisation for July 2012.
Details of delayed transfers of care data for individual organisations
Table 1 - Critical Care Bed Occupancy Rates - August 2010 to July 2012
Month
Adult Critical Care Paediatric Critical Care ** ** Neonatal Critical Care
Open **Occupied **
** **
%
Open Occupied % Open Occupied %
Aug-10
3,346
2,699
80.7%
370
258
69.7%
1,173
826
70.4%
Sep-10
3,453
2,903
84.1%
361
247
68.4%
1,217
848
69.7%
Oct-10
3,489
2,938
84.2%
372
278
74.7%
1,198
853
71.2%
Nov-10
3,515
3,025
86.1%
371
297
80.1%
1,257
932
74.1%
Dec-10
3,525
3,081
87.4%
393
335
85.2%
1,249
941
75.3%
Jan-11
3,550
3,008
84.7%
396
317
80.1%
1,251
911
72.8%
Feb-11
3,677
3,033
82.5%
393
303
77.1%
1,251
924
73.9%
Mar-11
3,679
3,065
83.3%
401
303
75.6%
1,273
882
69.3%
Apr-11
3,707
2,901
78.3%
393
274
69.7%
1,283
980
76.4%
May-11
3,706
3,053
82.4%
398
280
70.4%
1,286
976
75.9%
Jun-11
3,683
2,980
80.9%
402
292
72.6%
1,267
940
74.2%
Jul-11
3,706
2,947
79.5%
392
277
70.7%
1,281
902
70.4%
Aug-11
3,704
2,953
79.7%
396
265
66.9%
1,269
917
72.3%
Sep-11
3,718
3,042
81.8%
409
314
76.8%
1,277
924
72.4%
Oct-11
3,728
3,046
81.7%
396
307
77.5%
1,289
984
76.3%
Nov-11
3,702
3,121
84.3%
393
334
85.0%
1,295
988
76.3%
Dec-11
3,696
2,961
80.1%
393
335
85.2%
1,295
953
73.6%
Jan-12
3,733
3,154
84.5%
402
320
79.6%
1,291
935
72.4%
Feb-12
3,744
3,198
85.4%
405
336
83.0%
1,301
946
72.7%
Mar-12
3,738
3,193
85.4%
404
340
84.2%
1,313
985
75.0%
Apr-12
3,729
3,137
84.1%
407
309
75.9%
1,319
971
73.6%
May-12
3,722
3,189
85.7%
402
301
74.9%
1,319
1,008
76.4%
Jun-12
3,727
3,046
81.7%
395
316
80.0%
1,380
1,026
74.3%
Jul-12
3,719
3,017
81.1%
409
309
75.6%
1,368
985
72.0%
Notes:
- Data relating to the number of available and occupied critical care beds is a monthly snapshot taken at midnight on the last Thursday of each month and can fluctuate from month to month.
- Before February 2011, data on Critical Care beds were published bi-annually in a separate collection. Therefore, Critical Care data published until January should be treated with a degree of caution.
Table 2 - Cancelled Operations and Delayed Transfers of Care - August 2010 to July 2012
Month
Urgent Operations Cancelled
Delayed Transfers of Care
Patients Delayed
Total Days Delayed
August 2010
172
4,940
109,918
September 2010
185
5,004
115,855
October 2010
173
4,588
113,246
November 2010
211
4,409
113,091
December 2010
322
3,861
116,466
January 2011
222
4,597
114,346
February 2011
248
4,404
112,386
March 2011
237
4,170
123,130
April 2011
219
3,910
108,064
May 2011
205
4,056
113,364
June 2011
251
4,137
117,075
July 2011
203
4,228
115,517
August 2011
254
4,144
117,297
September 2011
310
4,165
117,194
October 2011
301
4,150
116,878
November 2011
419
4,165
114,705
December 2011
389
3,617
112,096
January 2012
322
4,147
111,962
February 2012
352
4,065
109,484
March 2012
282
4,035
119,416
April 2012
254
3,980
108,120
May 2012
365
3,874
119,015
June 2012
273
4,085
110,112
July 2012
320
4,042
117,476
Notes:
- A change from weekly to monthly data in Aug-10 led to data quality issues with the first few months of delayed transfers of care data in the monthly collection.
- Information on the numbers of people delayed on the last Thursday of the reporting period and the total number of Delayed Days are not directly comparable because the first is a ‘snapshot’ and the second a cumulative total.
Table 3 - Delayed Transfers of Care by Type of Care, Reason for Delay and Responsible Organisation - July 2012
Type of Care
Reason For Delay
Patients Delayed
Total Days Delayed
NHS
Social Care
Both
NHS
Social Care
Both
Acute A) Awaiting completion of assessment
312
101
100
9,415
3,192
2,412
B) Awaiting public funding
54
14
1
1,576
418
61
C) Awaiting further non-acute (including PCT and mental health) NHS care (including intermediate care, rehabilitation services etc)
668
NA
NA
20,042
NA
NA
Dii) Awaiting nursing home placement or availability
124
80
17
3,480
2,282
577
Di) Awaiting residential home placement or availability
72
80
NA
1,949
2,489
NA
E) Awaiting care package in own home
95
99
31
2,790
3,240
690
F) Awaiting community equipment and adaptations
71
3
9
2,072
112
254
G) Patient or family choice
361
27
NA
10,204
490
NA
H) Disputes
40
5
NA
940
149
NA
I) Housing - patients not covered by NHS and Community Care Act
34
NA
NA
1,125
NA
NA
Non-Acute A) Awaiting completion of assessment
113
108
53
2,862
2,902
1,476
B) Awaiting public funding
36
63
22
1,023
2,043
697
C) Awaiting further non-acute (including PCT and mental health) NHS care (including intermediate care, rehabilitation services etc)
120
NA
NA
3,582
NA
NA
Dii) Awaiting nursing home placement or availability
70
99
34
2,046
3,089
1,093
Di) Awaiting residential home placement or availability
90
214
NA
2,730
6,220
NA
E) Awaiting care package in own home
52
107
26
1,205
3,309
851
F) Awaiting community equipment and adaptations
25
6
4
976
266
108
G) Patient or family choice
205
50
NA
5,274
1,456
NA
H) Disputes
15
13
NA
551
254
NA
I) Housing - patients not covered by NHS and Community Care Act
119
NA
NA
3,504
NA
NA
Notes:
- NA means the combination of reason and responsible organisation is not permitted.
- Information on the numbers of people delayed on the last Thursday of the reporting period and the total number of Delayed Days are not directly comparable because the first is a ‘snapshot’ and the second a cumulative total.
Statistical Notes to Editors
1. **Critical Care data**
Data relating to the number of available and occupied critical care beds is a monthly snapshot taken at midnight on the last Thursday of each month and can fluctuate from month to month.
2. **Delayed Transfers of Care data**
A delayed transfer of care occurs when a patient is medically fit for discharge from acute or non-acute care and is still occupying a bed. For a more detailed definition please read the guidance on the DH website.
Data on the number of patients with a delayed transfers of care is a monthly snapshot taken atmidnighton the last Thursday of each month and can fluctuate from month to month. Data on the number of delayed days is a cumulative figure for the month and therefore, the two are not comparable.
Data on delayed transfers of care is collected from providers of NHS funded care and is split by:
- Local Authority that is responsible for each patient delayed
- Agency responsible for delay (NHS, Social Services or both)
- Type of care that the patient receives (acute or non-acute)
- Reason for delay
A detailed breakdown of the data can be found on the Department of Health website in CSV format.
3. **Trust and Local Authority level data **
Delayed transfers of care data covers NHS patients in English Hospitals, who may or may not reside in England and is published on both a trust and Local Authority basis.
Trust level reflects data at organisation level for those organisations that provide NHS funded care, for example acute Trusts, community providers, mental health trusts and Social Enterprise organisations.
Local Authority data reflects data on a regional population basis, i.e. Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibility (CASSRs) that are responsible for all patients who reside in their region.
4. **Data Quality**
Monthly SitReps data has been collected and published since August 2010. Prior to August 2010, data was collected weekly and was un-validated management information.
Delayed transfers of care data published during the early months of the collection from August 2010 to October 2010 should be treated with a degree of caution as a change from a weekly to a monthly data collection led to data quality issues. Since October, there has been a significant improvement in the coverage and accuracy of this data.
Critical care data published until January should be treated with a degree of caution as data on Critical Care beds was published bi-annually in a separate collection until January 2011. Since February 2011, there has been a significant improvement in the coverage and accuracy of this data.
5. **Data Availability**
Monthly Sitreps data is published approximately 3 - 4 weeks after the end of the reference period.
6. **Revisions**
Revisions to previous month’s data are made in line with the Department of Health’s revisions protocol for performance monitoring data. Future revisions will be made on a six monthly cycle.
All data in this publication was last revised in April 2012.
7. **Feedback Welcomed**
We welcome feedback on the content and presentation of Critical Care, Cancelled Operations and Delayed Transfers of Care statistics within this Statistical Press Notice and those published on the DH website. Please email any comments on this, or any other issues regarding the SitReps data and statistics, to: unify2@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Additional Information
For press enquiries, please visit the Department of Health website to find contact details for the relevant press officer.
The Government Statistical Service (GSS) statistician responsible for producing these data is:
Mark Svenson
Knowledge and Intelligence
Department of Health
Room 4E63, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UE
For data queries, email: unify2@dh.gsi.gov.uk