HC Deb 28 February 2002 vol 380 cc1558-9W
Mr. Luff

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of acute hospital bed availability in(a) Worcestershire, (b) Gloucestershire, (c) Herefordshire, (d) Warwickshire and (e) Birmingham; and if he will make a statement. [23086]

Yvette Cooper

The number of available acute beds at midnight on 29 November 2001 in National Health Service Trusts in the areas listed is given in the table:

Available acute beds at midnight on 29 November 2001
NHS Trust Total acute beds
(a) Worcestershire
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 764
Worcestershire Community & Mental Health NHS Trust 101
Gloucestershire
East Gloucestershire NHS Trust 632
Gloucestershire Royal NHS Trust 695
Severn NHS Trust 7
(c) Herefordshire
Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust 303
(d) Warwickshire
George Elliot Hospital NHS Trust 362
North Warwickshire NHS Trust 28
South Warwickshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust 30
South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 391
(e) Birmingham
Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust 194
Birmingham Heartlands & Solihull NHS Trust 1,168
Birmingham Specialist Community Health NHS Trust 6
Birmingham Women's Healthcare NHS Trust 92
City Hospital NHS Trust 653
Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust 471
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 38
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust 1,042

Source: DoH winter bed census.

The number of acute beds in the table includes adult and children's acute beds, critical care beds, specialist beds, special care baby cots, beds in assessment and admission units and beds in observation wards (if available to admit patients to). Some categories of acute beds—such as obstetrics and day care beds-are not included in the Department of Health winter bed census figures quoted but have formerly been included in calculations of acute capacity.