§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, for each of the years 1973 to 1984, he will provide such information as is available to his Department centrally as to the numbers of hospital beds in National Health Service hospitals in England in acute specialties, and in geriatrics, mental illness, mental handicap, and maternity (general practitioner and consultant obstetrics), and the total for all specialties, which were (a) closed as a result of the closure of complete hospitals, (b) closed in hospitals which were not completely closed, (c) provided as a result of opening new hospitals, and (d) provided in additions or modifications to existing hospitals.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe are quite unable to answer a question which requests a huge quantity of information broken down into considerable detail over a long period of years. The majority of the information requested is either not available centrally or could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, for each of the years 1973 to 1984, he will provide such information as is available to his Department centrally, as to the numbers of hospital beds in each National Health Service region in England, also boards of governors hospitals from 1973 to 1981 and special health authorities from 1982 onwards, which were (a) closed as a result of the closure of complete hospitals, (b) closed in hospitals which were not completely closed, (c) provided as a result of opening new hospitals and (d) provided in additions or modifications to existing hospitals.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeI see little sensible use for this information which, as I have pointed out to the hon. Member in answering previous questions, provides no worthwhile measure of activity in the National Health Service. However, information we have centrally is as follows.
a. Hospitals approved for complete closure — number of beds involved.
- i. 1973 Information not available.
- ii. 1974–79 Only the totals for England are given; figures for individual regions are not available. Totals include beds in hospitals approved for only partial closure, for which separate information is not available.
Number of beds 1974 2,426 1975 1,977 1976 1,801 1977 3,908 1978 4,895 1979 1,987 50W
(c) and (d) Number of beds provided in major new schemes Region 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Northern — — — 1,054 — — — — — 334 382 Yorkshire — — 340 480 — — — — 763 826 112 Trent — — — 1,488 1,165 — 1,003 — — — — East Anglian — — — — — 481 — 248 — 535 — North West Thames 793 — — — — — — — — — 368 North East Thames — 873 — — — — — — 293 — 286
Number of beds iii. 1980–84
Regional Health Authority 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Northern 22 14 24 225 64 Yorkshire 34 282 — 500 279 Trent 26 428 442 324 547 East Anglian 50 10 — 291 320 North West Thames 155 62 — 377 225 North East Thames 240 524 156 383 504 South East Thames 258 — 48 240 — South West Thames 778 57 — 252 237 Wessex 46 220 — 79 80 Oxford — 30 — 144 238 South Western 198 — 31 390 37 West Midlands 325 62 44 165 856 Mersey 108 306 42 132 714 North Western 260 22 108 194 136 Boards of Governors/Special Health Authorities — — — 42 — Notes:
1. Temporary closures are not included.
2. Dates on which closures are implemented are not recorded centrally.
b. Partial hospital closures — number of beds approved for closure.
i. 1973 Information not available.
ii. 1974–79 Figures for partial closures are not available. Numbers are included within figures at paragraph ii. of part a. of this answer.
iii. 1980–84
Regional Health Authority 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Northern — 8 — — 86 Yorkshire — 108 — 70 48 Trent — 22 — 172 122 East Anglian — — 32 — — North West Thames 7 187 28 40 256 North East Thames — 13 80 12 — South East Thames — 20 39 31 — South West Thames — — — — — Wessex — 291 — — 8 Oxford — 56 — — — South Western — — — — 7 West Midlands — — 44 262 213 Mersey 10 — 39 11 45 North Western — — — — — Boards of Governors/Special Health Authorities — — — — — Notes:
1. Temporary closures are not included.
2. Dates on which closures are implemented are not recorded centrally.
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Region 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 South East Thames — 222 630 — 391 — — — — 570 — South West Thames — — 365 312 — — — — 554 — — Wessex — — — 435 482 218 — 521 — — — Oxford — — — — 484 — — — — 265 — South Western — 14 — — — — 355 — — — — West Midlands — — — 224 — — — — 297 414 — Mersey — — — — — 820 — 1,007 160 208 232 North Western — — — — — — 700 — — 83 — Boards of Governors/SHAs — — — — — — — — — — — Notes: * Information is available only for major new schemes, which include both new hospitals and additions to existing ones. † " From 1974–78 major schemes were those costing in excess of £2 million; from 1979–84 those in excess of £5 million. ‡ Information on beds provided in minor schemes is not available centrally. ≑ Information for 1973 is not available centrally.
§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, for each of the years 1973 to 1984, he will provide such information as is available to his Department centrally, as to the average numbers of beds available daily in each National Health Service region in England, boards of governors' hospitals also, from 1973 to 1981, and special health authorities from 1982 onwards, in acute
Average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals in England—Acute* Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 Northern 11,310 11,345 11,156 11,100 10,847 10,676 10,509 10,638 10,389 10,243 10,281 Yorkshire 11,351 12,785 12,578 12,264 12,164 12,032 11,855 11,794 11,729 11,640 11,593 Trent 12,950 12,110 12,118 12,270 12,222 12,298 12,197 12,028 11,940 11,783 11,728 East Anglian 4,963 4,941 4,967 5,138 5,208 5,257 5,276 5,365 5,268 5,230 5,286 North West Thames 17,083 12,794 12,651 12,483 12,061 11,568 11,288 10,711 10,673 9,900 9,728 North East Thames 13,042 15,412 15,161 15,016 14,480 14,036 13,501 12,996 12,903 13,851 13,465 South East Thames 13,425 13,638 13,267 13,283 13,011 12,272 12,083 11,715 11,459 11,307 11,217 South West Thames 13,293 9,421 9,111 9,068 8,770 8,506 8,347 7,965 7,837 7,560 7,532 Wessex 5,632 7,794 7,735 7,768 7,728 7,685 7,600 7,553 7,538 7,452 7,386 Oxford 5,828 6,402 6,327 6,335 6,204 6,073 5,976 5,827 5,825 5,851 5,791 South Western 10,559 9,252 9,304 9,156 9,052 8,993 8,872 8,893 8,949 8,922 8,849 West Midlands 15,322 15,118 14,796 14,909 14,907 14,693 14,491 14,533 14,560 14,409 14,289 Mersey 9,517 10,048 9,761 9,572 9,320 9,087 8,722 8,460 8,276 7,890 7,586 North Western 15,487 14,312 14,050 14,028 13,965 13,834 13,467 13,443 13,300 13,181 13,068 Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 3,647 3,065 3,013 3,030 3,002 2,901 2,861 2,800 2,821 2,624 2,583 Total 158,712 158,437 155,995 155,420 152,941 149,914 147,044 144,721 143,467 141,842 140,381 52W
Average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals in England—Geriatrics Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 Northern 3,556 3,932 3,891 3,887 3,825 3,837 3,733 3,727 3,675 3,809 3,885 Yorkshire 5,124 5,613 5,553 5,420 5,466 5,404 5,307 5,259 5,205 5,089 5,041 Trent 5,469 5,068 5,115 5,101 5,092 5,172 5,055 5,053 5,153 5,204 5,229 East Anglian 2,332 2,226 2,219 2,392 2,321 2,294 2,318 2,340 2,351 2,372 2,417 North West Thames 3,500 3,130 3,173 3,183 3,237 3,250 3,234 3,348 3,422 3,366 3,329 North East Thames 3,912 4,301 4,384 4,518 4,484 4,452 4,444 4,416 4,429 4,555 4,574 South East Thames 4,381 4,343 4,350 4,372 4,389 4,367 4,284 4,247 4,208 4,237 4,233 South West Thames 3,508 3,139 3,209 3,093 3,251 3,220 3,087 3,014 3,037 3,064 3,034 Wessex 2,566 3,623 3,602 3,606 3,565 3,542 3,528 3,536 3,534 3,543 3,510 Oxford 2,407 2,223 2,180 2,158 2,175 2,132 2,085 2,070 2,055 2,027 2,006 South Western 4,757 3,847 3,868 3,851 3,860 3,858 3,745 3,696 3,739 3,771 3,848 West Midlands 6,160 5,874 5,913 6,069 6,211 6,230 6,216 6,181 6,182 6,256 6,230 Mersey 2,500 3,020 2,995 3,114 3,149 3,263 3,211 3,101 3,073 3,136 3,171 North Western 6,021 5,074 5,106 4,985 4,905 4,963 4,890 4,957 5,017 5,135 5,193 Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 80 102 Total 56,184 55,413 55,558 55,749 55,930 55,986 55,139 54,947 55,082 55,646 55,801 specialties, geriatrics, mental illness, mental handicap and maternity (general practitioner and consultant obstetrics) and the total for all specialties.
§ Mr. John PattenThe available information is given in the tables. 1984 figures are not yet available. The total number of in-patient cases rose by 17 per cent. from 5,132,000 in 1973 to 6,019,000 in 1983 and the average annual number of in-patient cases treated per available bed increased by 38 per cent. from 12.7 to 17.5.
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Average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals in England—Mental illness‡ Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 Northern 7,157 6,999 6,925 6,633 6,347 6,158 6,144 6,054 6,011 5,936 5,900 Yorkshire 8,401 8,145 8,177 8,183 7,977 7,879 7,587 7,139 7,042 6,899 6,642 Trent 8,807 7,987 7,812 7,705 7,680 7,589 7,582 7,784 7,295 7,232 7,169 East Anglian 3,636 3,494 3,375 3,339 3,266 3,199 3,092 3,010 3,056 2,959 2,987 North West Thames 9,073 10,180 9,592 9,313 8,650 8,383 8,021 7,801 7,622 7,460 7,275 North East Thames 6,779 7,763 7,406 7,354 7,336 7,222 6,931 6,874 6,689 6,682 6,453 South East Thames 7,363 7,534 8,388 7,909 7,638 7,313 7,115 6,934 6,861 6,634 6,473 South West Thames 16,356 10,975 9,293 8,849 8,489 7,932 7,619 7,395 7,054 6,694 6,585 Wessex 5,340 6,040 5,117 4,881 4,751 4,473 4,344 4,222 4,148 4,102 4,036 Oxford 3,477 3,459 2,989 2,937 2,690 2,594 2,608 2,534 2,445 2,374 2,306 South Western 8,788 7,121 6,503 6,260 5,998 5,861 5,734 5,695 5,506 5,346 5,095 West Midlands 10,493 10,209 9,561 9,222 8,908 8,915 8,753 8,499 8,236 8,112 7,823 Mersey 6,077 7,021 7,003 6,912 6,745 6,762 6,519 6,316 6,322 6,200 5,903 North Western 8,624 7,086 6,818 6,773 6,613 6,443 6,592 6,708 6,709 6,759 6,698 Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 408 403 412 418 411 409 402 431 439 442 442 Total 109,650 104,416 99,371 96,688 93,499 91,129 89,045 37,396 85,436 83,831 81,786
Average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals in England—Mental handicap Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 Northern 3,676 3,698 3,675 3,618 3,563 3,488 3,336 3,326 3,226 3,160 3,138 Yorkshire 3,704 3,746 3,604 3,554 3,527 3,506 3,482 3,432 3,321 3,203 3,116 Trent 4,965 4,989 4,979 5,078 5,086 5,000 4,878 4,703 4,609 4,520 4,382 East Anglian 1,702 1,689 1,701 1,735 1,667 1,631 1,626 1,602 1,598 1,597 1,570 North West Thames 5,357 4,590 4,446 4,338 4,209 4,140 3,962 3,904 3,884 3,835 3,742 North East Thames 3,337 3,218 3,079 2,975 2,882 2,812 2,818 2,684 2,646 2,504 2,513 South East Thames 3,965 3,918 3,771 3,562 3,509 3,495 3,415 3,318 3,225 3,198 3,021 South West Thames 6,499 6,605 6,574 6,547 6,428 6,247 6,095 5,947 5,811 5,706 5,596 Wessex 1,971 2,546 2,496 2,410 2,412 2,436 2,451 2,453 2,400 2,393 2,338 Oxford 2,237 2,134 2,124 2,122 2,100 2,046 2,009 1,994 1,930 1,878 1,782 South Western 5,793 5,699 5,410 5,124 5,012 4,919 4,855 4,705 4,701 4,570 4,446 West Midlands 5,561 5,268 5,174 5,033 4,964 4,782 4,600 4,394 4,311 4,275 4,076 Mersey 1,548 2,615 2,604 2,583 2,571 2,537 2,504 2,424 2,357 2,321 2,210 North Western 5,815 4,447 4,502 4,413 4,331 4,235 4,072 3,970 3,859 3,815 3,695 Special Health Authorities and Board of Governors 24 24 24 24 20 20 17 8 8 8 8 Total 56,130 55,186 54,163 53,116 52,281 51,295 50,122 48,863 47,888 46,983 45,631
Average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals in England—Maternity≑ Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 Northern 1,538 1,561 1,512 1,489 1,408 1,322 1,321 1,285 1,872 1,280 1,276 Yorkshire 1,588 1,785 1,745 1,692 1,608 1,544 1,536 1,531 1,522 1,514 1,489 Trent 2,161 2,069 2,046 1,973 1,907 1,861 1,798 1,747 1,744 1,764 1,735 East Anglian 782 779 777 781 766 754 749 732 726 718 704 North West Thames 1,991 1,627 1,558 1,455 1,364 1,355 1,335 1,287 1,277 1,208 1,181 North East Thames 1,556 1,862 1,837 1,819 1,712 1,646 1,601 1,581 1,544 1,564 1,589 South East Thames 1,572 1,603 1,563 1,482 1,395 1,363 1,347 1,342 1,304 1,283 1,259 South West Thames 1,580 1,270 1,276 1,193 1,116 1,054 1,033 1,034 1,013 950 932 Wessex 905 1,233 1,175 1,185 1,160 1,117 1,677 1,058 1,021 1,024 1,005 Oxford 965 1,008 977 951 905 881 869 879 874 863 813 South Western 1,519 1,277 1,276 1,215 1,162 1,132 1,116 1,122 1,113 1,117 1,087 West Midlands 2,352 2,322 2,303 2,269 2,128 2,086 2,025 2,008 1,980 2,002 1,955 Mersey 1,115 1,228 1,206 1,179 1,132 1,056 982 979 949 924 931 North Western 2,183 1,908 1,868 1,841 1,836 1,764 1,712 1,683 1,695 1,703 1,650 Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 219 138 138 135 136 140 138 137 139 192 192 Total 21,804 21,670 21,257 20,659 19,735 19,075 18,640 18,406 18,176 18,108 17,799 54W55W
Average daily number of available beds in NHS hospitals in England—All specialties Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 Northern 27,237 27,752 27,409 26,992 26,254 25,746 25,305 25,283 24,825 24,679 24,728 Yorkshire 30,168 32,117 31,714 31,246 30,890 30,539 29,946 29,298 28,959 28,488 28,034 Trent 33,632 32,307 32,175 32,292 32,187 32,122 31,712 31,516 30,944 30,744 30,481 East Anglian 13,415 13,142 13,052 13,398 13,241 13,156 13,094 13,088 13,038 12,914 13,001 North West Thames 37,004 32,377 31,474 30,826 29,575 28,752 27,904 27,116 26,947 25,852 25,342 North East Thames 28,626 32,679 32,004 31,830 31,040 30,311 29,443 28,703 28,357 29,298 28,741 South East Thames 30,706 31,140 31,474 30,750 30,092 29,188 28,408 27,719 27,217 26,816 26,356
Region† 1973 1974† 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982† 1983 South West Thames 41,228 31,515 29,553 28,816 28,115 27,020 26,242 25,416 24,799 24,021 23,719 Wessex 16,414 21,258 20,146 19,869 19,634 19,271 19,021 18,844 18,662 18,546 18,310 Oxford 14,914 15,296 14,668 14,613 14,184 13,836 13,664 13,422 13,247 13,113 12,817 South Western 31,416 27,259 26,467 25,719 25,190 24,892 24,456 24,245 24,143 23,861 23,459 West Midlands 39,888 38,974 37,952 37,715 37,310 36,889 36,263 35,782 35,437 35,228 34,544 Mersey 20,757 23,962 23,613 23,406 22,964 22,732 21,981 21,331 21,025 20,519 19,848 North Western 38,121 32,827 32,344 32,053 31,681 31,310 30,811 30,839 30,662 30,677 30,384 Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 4,311 3,630 3,587 3,607 3,569 3,470 3,419 3,376 3,407 3,346 3,327 Total 403,526 396,235 387,632 383,132 375,926 369,235 361,670 355,979 351,669 348,104 343,091 * "Acute" is defined as all specialties except geriatrics, younger disabled, GP maternity, obstetrics, mental handicap and mental illness. † Figures prior to 1974 relate to regional hospital boards and thereafter to regional health authorities. Because of NHS restructuring in 1974 and 1982 the regional figures are not strictly comparable over the whole period. ‡ Includes all mental illness specialties. ≑ Includes GP maternity and obstetrics.