As the colder weather takes its toll on the health of the nation, we have looked into how well Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is coping with winter pressures.

During winter, NHS England publishes weekly reports which give insight into how well hospital trusts are managing – looking at ambulance delays, bed occupancy and long stays in hospitals.

We have pulled together a round-up of how Royal Berkshire Trust handled the week from December 2 to 8.

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Ambulance waits

Last week, 707 patients were brought by ambulance to A&E at the trust. The busiest day was Tuesday, when 119 patients arrived.

Over the week, 47 arrivals waited 30 minutes or more to be transferred to the emergency department – despite NHS guidelines saying all patients should be transferred within 15 minutes.

A further seven patients waited an hour or longer.

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Bed availability

General and acute wards at the trust were 95.9 per cent full on average last week – significantly above the 85 per cent rate the British Medical Association suggests should not be exceeded to ensure safe patient care.

Above 92 per cent, NHS Improvement says that deterioration in A&E performance begins to accelerate.

Royal Berkshire Trust was more than 92 per cent full every day last week.

On average, the trust had 637 beds available to use each day last week , including 10 escalation beds, which are used in emergencies and periods of high demand. Just 26 beds were free on an average day.

Long-stay patients

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, hospital staff are being encouraged to reduce lengthy hospital stays for patients recovering from an operation or illness.

NHS England says the move is aimed at improving care options and freeing up 7,000 beds nationally – the equivalent of 15 large hospitals.

On Sunday, 285 patients had been in hospital for seven days or more at Royal Berkshire Trust. They accounted for 46 per cent of all bed space.

Occupying 18 per cent of beds, 112 patients had been in hospital for three weeks or longer.

Norovirus

Norovirus, also called the winter vomiting bug, causes vomiting and diarrhoea. As it is contagious, staff can close beds in hospital wards to prevent it spreading.

When the disease was at its peak at Royal Berkshire Trust last week, 16 beds were closed.