HC Deb 23 April 1986 vol 96 cc160-1W
Mr. Ron Davies

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the ratio of National Health Service beds to population in Wales; and how this compares with the figures for April 1983 and April 1979.

Mr. Mark Robinson

The information is not available for the months requested. For the nearest equivalent dates the figures are as follows:

Ratio of staffed beds allocated per 1,000 population, Wales (all specialties)
Ratio
31 March 1979 8.4
31 March 1983 8.1
30 September 1985 7.9

The reduction largely is due to the move towards community care for the mentally ill and mentally handicapped, thereby reducing hospital beds for such categories.