HL Deb 14 October 1997 vol 582 cc161-2WA
Lord Lucas

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many admissions per available bed there have been each year in the general and acute sector since 1970.

Baroness Jay of Paddington

The information is shown in the following table.

Table: number of admissions per available bed (general and acute sector) in NHS hospitals (000s)
Year England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Yearly Total
1970 1 17 17 34
1971 1 18 18 36
1972 1 18 18 36
1973 1 18 18 36
1974 20 18 19 57
Table: number of admissions per available bed (general and acute sector) in NHS hospitals (000s)
Year England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Yearly Total
1975 20 18 18 56
1976 21 19 20 60
1977 22 19 20 61
1978 22 19 20 61
1979 22 19 20 61
1980 24 20 21 65
1981 24 20 22 22 88
1982 24 21 22 67
1983 26 20 24 23 93
1984 27 21 25 24 97
1985 28 22 26 25 101
1986 29 22 27 26 104
1987–88 31 23 28 27 109
1988–89 32 24 29 30 115
1989–90 33 24 31 32 120
1990–91 35 25 32 33 125
1991–92 38 26 34 37 135
1992–93 39 27 35 41 142
1993–94 42 28 36 46 152
1994–95 43 30 37 50 160
1995–96 45 31 38 53 167

Notes:

England:

Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1987–88.

1 Information prior to 1974 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Scotland:

Due to the changes in coding classifications, certain year-on-year comparisons may not be strictly comparable.

Wales:

Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1983–84.

Northern Ireland:

Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1988–89.

Complete information is not available for 1982 due to an industrial dispute.

Information before 1981, if available, can only be provided at disproportionate cost.