Too few NHS beds

sir – Throughout the pandemic there have been dire warnings that the NHS might be overwhelmed if the number of patients with Covid-19 rose too high. It has been suggested that we do everything in our power to protect it.

This problem is a direct result of insufficient capacity in the system. It is a shameful admission that now there may be inadequate facilities to treat the enormous backlog of patients with cancer and other serious conditions who have been denied treatment during the past year.

Successive administrations have reduced capacity in the NHS to dangerous levels. At present, Britain has fewer than 2.54 beds per 100,000 people. This compares to 8 in Germany, 7.37 in Austria, 7.02 in Hungary and 5.98 in France. The problem is compounded by the fact that Britain’s number of doctors per capita is also one of the lowest in Europe. It is no surprise that ambulances have to wait, often for several hours, outside A&E units, before there is space to accept patients.

Inadequate capacity is the main challenge facing the NHS and will require a major initiative on the part of the Government if our health service is once again to be capable of taking care of the population. In my own city I have witnessed the loss of more than 1,500 hospital beds since the 1980s, all carried out on the basis of cost savings and efficiency. This is unsustainable and must not be allowed to continue. Malcolm H Wheeler FRCS Bonvilston, Glamorgan

sir – Last week my uncle died, aged 96, of old age and frailty. He had contracted Covid six months ago, from which he had fully recovered.

However, his death certificate recorded Covid as a contributory cause and will be added to the Government’s statistics. Is it any wonder that recorded Covid deaths remain so stubbornly high?

Jenny Macdonald East Peckham, Kent