§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State what estimate he has made of the additional number of beds that would be required to eliminate queueing for a bed on wards at(a) Whiston hospital, Aintree, (b) University hospital, (c) the Royal Liverpool teaching hospital and (d) Alder Hey hospital; and if he will make a statement. [2168]
§ Jacqui SmithI apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002,Official Report, column 192W.
The Whiston hospital, University hospital, Aintree and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen hospital each has a higher than average proportion of patients experiencing a long wait in an Accident and Emergency (A&E) department or elsewhere for admission to a bed in a ward.
816WThe reasons that patients have to wait in accident and emergency or elsewhere for a bed in a ward are complex and not always solved solely by the addition of extra beds. However, more ward beds have been opened in each of the hospitals as part of the overall strategy for reducing the length of time patients are waiting for admission to a bed.