NHS CUTS 15,000 BEDS IN 6 YEARS
One in ten have been axed – equivalent to closing 24 hospitals, report reveals
HOSPITALS have axed 15,000 beds in just six years, leaving wards at ‘breaking point’, a shock report reveals today.
The dramatic reduction – equivalent to closing 24 hospitals – amounts to a 10 per cent fall in NHS beds at a time when the health service is under unprecedented pressure.
There are now just 129,458 hospital beds available for patients at night, down from 144,455 in 2010/11.
Critics say patients’ safety is at risk and blame the cuts on an NHS obsession with shifting care out of hospitals and ‘closer to home’. Health offi- cials say patients recover more quickly if they are looked after in their own homes by GPs, district nurses and carers, but many GP surgeries and councils do not have the resources to care for people who would previously have stayed longer in hospital.
At the same time, demand for beds is soaring due to the pressures of a social care crisis, immigration and an ageing population, with many more
patients succumbing to long-term illnesses and frailty.
New figures today will suggest the problem is likely to get worse. Regulator NHS Improvement will warn that despite being given a £1.8 billion cash injection from the Government last year, hospitals are on course for a £1 billion deficit by the end of this year.
The figures will spark a fresh debate about whether the NHS is contributing to its problems by squandering precious resources.
One report yesterday said hospitals had blown £2 billion by overpaying for items such as toilet roll, blinds and wet wipes, with items that could have been sent in one hospital’s internal mail being sent by Royal Mail instead.
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned that the loss of 15,000 beds ‘ risked patient safety’ because nothing had been done to improve the level at care at home. The lack of beds means hospitals are having to cancel operations at the last minute – including cancer and heart surgery – or send patients home before they have properly recovered.
The BMA report also highlights how the NHS has fewer beds per head than nearly every country in Europe. The UK has an average of 2.4 beds per 1,000 population, compared to Germany (8), Austria (7.5) and France (6).
And it raises concerns over occupancy rates on wards. Hospitals are not meant to be more than 85 per cent occupied, but the report highlights figures showing that nine out of ten exceeded this over the winter. Several hospitals are 99 or even 100 per cent occupied with patients at much higher risk of infections and neglect.
Last week an inquest heard that grandmother Mary Muldowney, 57, from Crawley, West Sussex, died from a brain haemorrhage after three hospitals refused to admit her because they had no beds.
Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA’s council, said: ‘These figures paint an even bleaker picture of an NHS that is at breaking point.
‘High bed occupancy is a symptom of wider pressure and demand on an overstretched and underfunded
‘Patients being unfairly let down’
system. It causes delays in admissions, operations being cancelled and patients being unfairly and sometimes repeatedly let down. The delays that vulnerable patients are facing, particularly those with mental health issues, have almost become the norm and this is unacceptable.’
The bed shortage is being exacerbated by the bed-blocking crisis, caused by the problems in the social care sector. With a shortage of home help and places at residential care homes, elderly and vulnerable patients are staying in hospital longer than they should.
Former health minister, Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, said: ‘The situation is getting intolerable, with more cancelled operations, longer delays and those with mental health issues being systematically let down. The Government is failing to properly fund the NHS and patients are paying the price.’
Today’s figures cover all hospital beds, including those on general and maternity wards, as well as in mental health and learning disability centres. An average hospital has 634 beds, so a loss of 15,000 beds is equivalent to almost 24 hospitals.
Fiona Johnson, of the Nuffield Trust think-tank, said: ‘The extremely high level of bed occupancy in England’s hospitals creates pressure- cooker conditions for the NHS.
‘The drive to achieve efficiencies by reducing bed numbers has become counterproductive, as there is no slack in the system to accommodate surges in demand and as a result procedures and operations get delayed.’
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: ‘The shameful reality is this overcrowding puts patients at risk and blows apart ministers’ claims to be prioritising safety.’
An NHS England spokesman said: ‘ Modern treatment advances such as minimally invasive surgery, fast-acting anaesthetics and medicines taken at home mean that the length of time patients spend in hospital has been falling in all Western countries.
‘The NHS is highly efficient overall, but there are still meaningful differences in discharge practices and community support across England.’
The Department of Health said: Our hospitals are busier than ever but thanks to the hard work of staff, our performances are still among the best in the world. We have backed the NHS’s own plan for the future with an extra £10 billion by 2020.’