§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds have been withdrawn from the National Health Service in each year since 1979; and what is the total as a proportion of the number of beds in the National Health Service in 1979.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe available information is given in the table. Over the period the number of in-patient cases treated increased by 14.4 per cent. from 5.4 million to 6.2 million. Figures for 1985 are not yet available.
Average daily number of available beds, NHS hospitals England Thousands of beds Year All specialties Change from previous year Number Percentage 1979 361.7 — — 1980 356.0 5.7 1.6 1981 351.7 4.3 1.2 1982 348.1 3.6 1.0 1983 343.1 5.0 1.4 1984 334.5 8.6 2.5
Year Percentage *1979 100.0 1980 98.4 1981 97.2 1982 96.2 1983 94.9 1984 92.5 * Index: 1979=100.