Occupied hospital beds in south east London in 2023 N

Across England, occupancy rates have risen again to 89.8 percent - just short of the record 90 percent in March 2018.

In England, 92.3 percent of beds in general and acute services were occupied which is the highest on record since the pandemic began.

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, King’s College Hospital NHS Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust and Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust all reported an increase in the number of overnight beds occupied in the first three months of 2023.

Oxleas NHS Foundation trust reported a 1.2 percent decrease for overnight hospital beds for the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2022.

Here’s a full roundup of the hospital beds occupied the five NHS trusts:

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust

In the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, 93.7 percent of 992 overnight beds were occupied in the three months before March.

This increased from 82.6 percent during the same period in 2022.

94.7 percent of beds in acute settings were filled in the three months leading up to March.

A spokesperson for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust said: “We run two very busy acute hospitals and there is a very high demand for our services.

“We work very hard with our healthcare partners to continually improve access to the services that our communities need.

“This includes our work with primary care partners, significant investment in community services so that more patients can receive care in their homes, and robust plans to further increase our hospital capacity.”

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

In King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 92.1 percent of 1,455 overnight beds were occupied in the first three months of 2023.

This was a rise from 90.6 percent during the same period in 2022.

95.6 percent of beds in acute settings were filled in the first three months of 2023.

We have contacted King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for comment.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust

In Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, 98.8 percent of 598 overnight beds were occupied in the three months to March this year.

This was an increase from 96.5 percent during the same period in 2022.

99.8 percent of beds in acute settings were filled in the first three months of 2023.

We have contacted Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust for comment.

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

In Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust 85.2 percent of 392 overnight beds were occupied in the three months to March this year.

This was a fall from of 86.4 percent over the same period in 2022.

We have contacted Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust for comment.

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust

In Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust 89.7 percent of 438 overnight beds were occupied in the three months to March.

This was a rise from 87.7 percent during the same period a year before.

We have contacted Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust for comment.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said that £14.1 billion would be invested in health and social care over the next two years in a bid to cut wait lists for health services.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Cutting waiting lists is one of the government’s top five priorities and we are investing up to £14.1 billion in health and social care over the next two years, on top of record funding.

"Waiting times have substantially reduced from the peak of winter pressures in December and the NHS has set out ambitious plans to improve access to care.

“This includes delivering 5,000 additional permanent hospital beds for next winter as well as an extra 3,000 virtual ward beds to safely care for people from home, resulting in over 10,000 in total by autumn."

"Over the next two years we are also investing £1.6 billion to support timely and safe discharge of people from hospital into the community.”