Plans for same day emergency care are being “grossly derailed” by winter pressures

An NHS plan to provide urgent care to patients without admitting them to hospital to ease capacity problems this winter has been “grossly derailed” by trusts repurposing beds for patients being admitted, senior doctors have warned.

Last March, NHS England instructed every major hospital in England to provide same day emergency care—also known as ambulatory emergency care—in acute medical units by the end of the 2019 as part of the NHS’s long term plan.

The service is designed to offer an outpatient alternative to …