HC Deb 12 December 1989 vol 163 cc614-5W
84. Mr. Grocott

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the number of acute hospital beds in the west midlands(a) in 1979 and (b) in the latest year for which figures are available.

Mr. Freeman

In 1979 there were 14,669 average daily available acute beds within NHS hospitals in West Midlands regional health authority. The corresponding figure for the 1988–89 financial year was 12,528. In the same period, acute in-patient cases rose from 434,673 to 530,580 (provisional) and the number of acute day cases rose from 50,678 to 97,950 (provisional).