Accident and emergency department waiting times at Harrogate District Hospital have improved since the Christmas peak but the hospital remains under “considerable pressure” with almost no unoccupied beds available and two days of strike action expected next week.

A challenging winter at the hospital on Lancaster Park Road has seen a higher than average number of admissions to its A&E department as well as a fresh wave of covid and flu inpatients.

The hospital will be under further pressure on January 18 and 19 when members of the Royal College of Nurses strike over pay and conditions.

Workers at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are also expected to walk out today as part of a 24-hour strike.

Members of the royal college who work for Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust are on the list for the second wave of action in an escalation of its pay dispute with the government.

Two days of strikes were held in England, Northern Ireland and Wales on December 15 and 20 but Harrogate nurses did not take part.

Visitors to A&E have experienced long waiting times as healthcare staff have prioritised patients with serious and life-threatening conditions.

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Between December 19 and January 1 a total of 1,993 people attended A&E, an average of 142 a day.

Of these, 524 were then admitted to the hospital for further treatment.

However, since the new year the average number of daily visitors to A&E has fallen to 127, helping to reduce waiting times and ease the burden on under-pressure staff.

The overall situation at the hospital also worsened due to the high number of beds filled with patients suffering with covid but since January 4 that figure has fallen from 22 to 17.

The number of patients with flu has also dropped to single digits from over 30 last week.

A trust spokesperson said the fall in covid and flu patients has “made flow through our hospitals a little easier”.

To further ease pressure at A+E, the hospital recently introduced a new “streaming model” for minor injuries so staff can focus on patients with more serious conditions.

Last Friday, the hospital had its largest-ever discharge day with 81 patients returning to their homes or care home.

The spokesperson said: 

Two free beds

But despite an improving situation with more free beds in certain wards, the spokesperson said that yesterday there was just two unoccupied beds out of 298.

They added there are still many patients who are able to return home but cannot as they are waiting to be placed into a care home or home.

The spokesperson said: