§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what instructions his Department issued to acute trusts on planning bed allocations to reduce the length of waiting times in accident and emergency units. [87530]
§ Mr. LammyCreating more capacity in hospitals is key to reducing long waits to be admitted to a bed from accident and emergency. Over the last two years, the number of beds have increased, reversing a 40 year decline.
The Department has not issued any specific instructions to acute trusts regarding bed allocations to reduce the length of waiting times in accident and emergency departments.
As part of routine capacity planning each national health service trust needs to establish the levels of occupancy required for different specialties and types of care, depending on their own particular circumstances. Appropriate levels of occupancy will depend on a number of factors including specialty, the balance between emergency and planned admissions and the size of the hospital.