Urgent need for NHS beds to tackle delays

The NHS needs 13,000 more beds across the UK to improve “grim” A&E waits, ambulance response times and handover delays outside hospitals, a new report has found.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s Beds in the NHS report, said the health service has lost almost 25,000 beds across the UK since 2010-11.

It said the UK has the second-lowest number of beds per 1,000 people in the EU at 2.42 and had seen the third largest drop in beds per 1,000 population in the EU between 2000 and 2021 at 40.7%.

The loss of beds has led to a “sharp increase” in A&E waiting times, ambulance handover delays, delayed ambulance response times, cancelled elective surgeries and “unsafe” bed occupancy levels, the report added.

The college’s report said 13,000 staffed beds are required in the NHS across the UK to drive “meaningful change and improvement”, which includes a “significant” improvement in A&E waiting times, ambulance response times, ambulance handover delays and a return to safe bed occupancy levels.

It recommends opening 4,500 beds before winter, with the rest within five years.

The college’s vicepresident Dr Adrian Boyle said: “The situation is dire and demands meaningful action.”

He added: “These numbers are grim; they should shock all health and political leaders. These numbers translate to real patient harm and a serious patient safety crisis.

“The health service is not functioning as it should and the UK Government must take the steps to prevent further deterioration in performance and drive meaningful improvement.”