How hospitals can overcome capacity problems in the future

Over the coming years, hospitals are likely to undergo significant changes due to advancements in technology, changes in healthcare delivery models, and shifting patient expectations. The NHS’ net zero target will also result in changes moving forward.

Hospital capacity struggled over the last few months, with ambulance handover times being adversely affected. At many NHS hospitals, a backlog of ambulances could be seen outside, each with patients inside awaiting transfer to A&E. Consequentially, treatment is delayed, and patients must be prioritised.

The average response time for severe burns, stroke and chest pain was 93 minutes in December, five times the target. The backlogs also mean that ambulance response times suffer, postponing the arrival of further patients at the hospital. A key focus for future hospitals must be increasing capacity, particularly in winter months where hospitals are under increased pressure.

The NHS is struggling to treat patients quickly due to several reasons including staff shortages, an insufficient number of social care places for patients awaiting discharge, and the lowest number of critical care beds in a country from the developed world. Hospitals may need to expand or repurpose areas in order to increase the quantity of critical care beds.

Adapting hospital wards

Mobile cubicle tracks are an excellent way to quickly change the layout of beds in hospital wards. Mobile cubicle tracks utilises wheels which run along fixed tracks, allowing staff to increase or decrease space around beds based on the amount of equipment required to treat each patient. Large hospital wards may currently only have fixed cubicle tracks which do not provide the same flexibility, meaning retrofitting may be appropriate in the future.

Disposable curtains hang from cubicle tracks and offer benefits traditional curtains and reusable curtains do not, such as no laundry costs or cleaning time. They provide privacy to patients and enhance infection control because they can be changed after each patient if needed.

Future HealthSpaces’ partner Yewdale manufacture 100% recyclable disposable curtains which are available on the NHS supply chain. The NHS disposes of around 133,000 tonnes of plastic each year with only about 5% of this plastic waste being currently recovered. Recyclable curtains are crucial in helping the NHS reduce the huge amount of annual plastic waste.

Improving the provision of healthcare

With the increasing availability of high-speed internet and digital communication tools, more healthcare services will be provided remotely through virtual wards in the future. The NHS is introducing virtual wards to provide certain patients with medical advice or treatment from home, reducing the need for physical hospital visits. This would help to free up time and space within the NHS for patients in need of critical care.

The NHS app has increased in popularity since the global pandemic and its usability and integrated features will be a focal point for years to come. Further tools such as the NHS tracker help patients understand how often ambulances are queuing outside the A&E of hospitals in their area.

With the rise of electronic health records and other forms of digital data collection, hospitals may be able to use advanced analytics tools to better understand patient needs and improve treatment outcomes.

Increased focus on preventative care

As backlogs burden hospitals and healthcare costs continue to rise, healthcare providers may invest more into preventative care measures that can help keep patients healthy and out of hospital. Examples of preventative care that the NHS could focus on include regular check-ups, early detection of health problems and education on healthy lifestyle choices.

Summary

Overall, the hospital of the future is likely to be more technologically advanced, patient-focused, and data-driven. Expanding the number of critical care beds and introducing equipment such as mobile cubicle tracks will help hospital wards become more flexible. The NHS must overcome capacity issues by nationally adopting virtual wards with an emphasis on preventive care and remote healthcare delivery.