§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available within the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust on(a) 2 December, (b) 11 December and (c) the most recent date for which he has information; and if he will make a statement. [88010]
§ Mr. LammyThe daily situation reports by trusts do not list the total number of beds available within each hospital. The following answer therefore gives the number of beds that were not available on the days in question.
On 2 December, one ward at the Worcester Royal Hospital, with five unoccupied beds, was closed to admissions because of an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting (D&V), but it reopened during the day.
On 11 December, two wards were closed at the Alexandra Hospital, with five unoccupied beds, due to an outbreak of D&V.
On 17 December, the latest available date, six beds were closed due to staffing shortages at Worcester.
The bed closures should be seen in the overall context of some 900 beds (for all purposes) in the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The West Midlands South Strategic Health Authority is working closely with and monitoring the performance of the trust under the normal processes of winter planning and situation reporting.