§ Mr. Norman Atkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the net loss of hospital beds during the periods (a) 1975 to 1979 and (b) 1979 to 1983.
§ Mr. John PattenThe numbers of available beds in NHS hospitals in the years 1975, 1979 and 1982 are given in the table. 1983 figures are not yet available. It should be noted that over this period the number of inpatient discharges and deaths per available bed increased from 12.8 in 1975 to 14.9 in 1979 and 16.4 in 1982.
NHS Hospitals—England Year Average daily number of availble beds Reduction in available beds over period 1975 387,632 25,962 1979 361,670 13,566 1982 348,104