§ 32. Mr. GillTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many hospital beds will be available in Worcestershire after the current hospital reorganisation; [119086]
(2) how many hospital beds he estimates will be available in Worcestershire following hospital reorganisation there. [109844]
§ Yvette CooperThe important issue for the health service in Worcestershire is the number of patients who need to be treated and the appropriateness of their care. In line with this, the current estimate is that following hospital reorganisation there will be approximately 1,400 acute and community based beds available across Worcestershire. In addition, there will be more High Dependency Unit and Intensive Care Unit beds in the new acute hospital for Worcester owing to the investment the Government has made to modernise services in Worcestershire.
The report of the Government's National Beds Inquiry, set up to review assumptions about the demand for inpatient care and the implications for hospital bed numbers, was published for consultation on 10 February 2000. Consultation will focus on how health services, and specifically hospital beds, should be developed over the next 10-20 years.
The National Beds Inquiry consultation will enable the Government to get the right number of the right sort of beds in the right places.