NHS hospitals will be ‘sorely tested’ this winter: Some are operating at 99% occupancy as experts stress the health service needs a 156,000-strong army of volunteers to cope

Hospitals are already running out of beds and some are currently 99 per cent occupied, health experts warn.

Although they were ordered to free-up thousands of beds ahead of winter, many failed to meet their targets.

The chief executives of two major hospitals have admitted their bed occupancy rates are 98 per cent and 99 per cent respectively.

The NHS is bracing itself for an extremely busy winter and officials are particularly worried about the prospect of a severe flu outbreak.