NHS hospitals suffer from chronic bed shortage, surgeons say

Royal College of Surgeons calls for rethink after figures show 89% of beds are full overnight for fourth quarter in a rowThe Royal College of Surgeons has said there is a chronic shortage of NHS hospital beds in England after occupancy rates for overnight stays topped 89% for a fourth successive quarter. The maximum occupancy rate for patients to be well looked after and not exposed to health risks is considered to be 85%, a figure that has not been achieved since NHS England began publishing st