HL Deb 22 April 1982 vol 429 cc693-4WA
Lord Wigoder

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their best estimate of:

  1. (1) the total number of in-patient beds in (a) the NHS and (b) the private sector;
  2. (2) the total number of in-patient beds in (a) NHS hospitals and (b) private hospitals and nursing-homes licensed by NHS authorities (taken together) in each of the following categories:
    1. (i) geriatric
    2. (ii) long-stay
    3. (iii) mental illness, and
    4. (iv) mental handicap
  3. (3) the number of beds in each of these categories in private institutions occupied by NHS patients under contract between those institutions and NHS authorities, and
  4. (4) on the basis of such information, the percentage of NHS beds available to geriatric, long-stay, and mental patients (taken together) and the percentage of beds in the private sector similarly available.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Lord Trefgarne)

The information (i) is as follows:

(1) Total number of in-patient beds (ii) available in:

(a) NHS: 355,979
(b) Private Sector 31,875

(2) Total number of in-patient beds (ii) in the NHS in each of the following categories:

(a) Geriatric 54,947
(b) Long-stay (iii) 198,586
(c) Mental illness 87,396
(d) Mental handicap 48,863

Information is not available for the private sector.

(3) Number of beds in private institutions occupied by NHS patients under contractual arrangements as at 31st December 1980:

(a) Geriatric 924
(b) Long-stay (iii) 2,409
(c) Mental illness 111
(d) Mental Handicap 774

(4) Percentage of NHS beds available to patients in the following categories:

(a) Geriatric 15.4 per cent.
(b) Long-stay (iii) 55.78 per cent.
(c) Mental illness and Mental Handicap 38.3 per cent.

This information is not available for the private sector.

Notes:

  1. (i) England only.
  2. (ii) For NHS: average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals during the year ending 31st December 1980.

For Private sector: number of beds in premises registered under the Nursing Homes Act 1975 as at 31st December 1980.

(iii) Beds are not separately categorised as "long-stay" in current statistical returns; the numbers quoted for long-stay beds comprise several different categories of beds, including, for example, geriatric, mental illness and mental handicap beds.