Beds shortage ‘proves NHS at breaking point’
THE NHS is at “breaking point” over a shortage of hospital beds, leading to delays and cancelled operations, the British Medical Association warned last night.
Its report found that the number of overnight beds in English hospitals fell by a fifth between 2006/7 and 2015/16.
The research also found that in the first week of January this year, almost threequarters of trusts had a bed occupancy rate of 95 per cent on at least one day.
BMA chairman Dr Mark Porter said: “The UK already has the second lowest number of hospital beds per head in Europe and these figures paint an even bleaker picture of an NHS at breaking point.”
Labour described the BMA report as a “wake-up call which Theresa May must not ignore”. The Liberal Democrats described the situation as “intolerable”.
According to the analysis, there was an average of 3.8 beds per 1,000 people in 2000 – but this had dropped to 2.4 beds by 2015.
Overstretched
In November 2016, 14.8 per cent of patients spent more than four hours waiting for a hospital bed, having been seen in an A&E department.
The report said: “The data demonstrates the increasing pressures on the system. It provides evidence of the underlying cracks within the NHS, such as funding constraints, changes and increases in demand, disjointed care and workforce pressures.”
Pressures on mental health services are particularly acute, with a 44 per cent decrease in the number of mental health beds since 2000/1.
Mr Porter said high bed occupancy is a symptom of “an overstretched and underfunded system”.
He continued: “In the short term we need to see bed plans that are workable and focused on quality of care and patient experiences, rather than financial targets.
“But in the long term we need politicians to take their heads out of the sand and provide a sustainable solution to the funding and capacity challenges that are overwhelming the health service.”
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “This Government’s mismanagement is failing our NHS and failing patients. The Prime Minister must wake up to this crisis and ensure the NHS and social care have the funding and support needed.”
And Lib Dem spokesman Norman Lamb added: “The Government is failing to properly fund the NHS. Cutting both preventive services and beds leads to disaster.”
But a Department of Health spokesman said: “This analysis is inaccurate – the figures come from two different time periods when the way of counting beds was different, and so they aren’t comparable.
“Our hospitals are busier than ever but thanks to the hard work of staff, our performances are among the best in the world.”
An NHS spokeswoman said: “We are working tirelessly alongside providers to help them manage and to support more efficient use of the number of beds available.”