CRITICAL care wards are at maximum occupancy with no spare beds at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, the latest NHS figures have revealed.

Airedale is one of ten NHS trusts in England with full critical care beds, along with Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

The NHS England figures are for the week to January 10, the most recent figures available, and reflect the increasing pressure on the NHS being caused by the surge in Covid-19 cases over the past four weeks.

There are a total of 5,503 critical care beds across the country, and 4,632 were in use in the latest data.

Elsewhere in Yorkshire, Harrogate & District's critical care beds were all full.

The ten NHS Trusts whose critical care wards are at maximum occupancy are:

  • Airedale
  • Calderdale and Huddersfield
  • Chesterfield Royal Hospital
  • Dartford and Gravesham
  • Harrogate and District
  • Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells
  • Portsmouth Hospitals
  • Royal United Hospitals Bath
  • Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals
  • University Hospitals Birmingham

This morning, Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said the NHS has never been under such pressure in any previous winter.

He said: "The NHS is undoubtedly in a precarious position at the moment.

“We have over 30,000 patients with Covid in our hospitals. We’ve seen 15,000 come in since Christmas Eve, so that’s the equivalent of well over 20 hospitals.

“I don’t think the NHS has ever been under such pressure in any winter, but our staff are responding magnificently.

“There are signs growth and infection rates are slowing, but it will take several weeks before that starts to have an effect on reducing people in hospital.

“So it’s really going to be tough over the next couple of weeks and I would implore everybody to reduce the chance of transmitting the virus.”