§ Andy BurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds there were in the NHS on(a) 1 May 1997 and (b) 1 March 2004. [158688]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 4 March 2004]: Information on beds is not collected at individual census dates in the year. The average daily number of available beds in 1997–98 and 2002–03 is shown in the table.
Average daily number of available beds, by sector, England, 1997–98 and 2002–03
1997–98 2002–03 All Specialties (excluding day only) 193,625 183,826 General and Acute 138,047 136,679 Acute 107,807 108,706 Geriatric 30,240 27,973 Mental illness 36,601 32,753 Learning disability 8,197 5,038 Maternity 10,781 9,356 Day only 7,125 8,544 Source: Department of Health fonn KH03. The decrease in the number of national health service beds in some sectors reflects service improvements away from in-patient stays. We are aiming to deliver as many services as possible in the most low tech and local environment with more support in peoples' homes and the community. More procedures are taking place in out-patients and community settings which used to require hospital admission. At the same time, more consultations and treatments are taking place outside hospitals in the community and being delivered by different groups of staff. General practitioners are starting to offer treatments and consultations, which were once only done by hospital consultants. Similarly, there is an increase in the range of work undertaken by nurses. Many of the changes in the way services are delivered have been supported by the Modernisation Agency and through collaboration and learning between different parts of the NHS. This redesign of services has allowed the NHS to treat more patients and offer more convenient services.
The NHS Plan did, however, recognise a need for more general and acute beds and set a target of 2,100 extra by 2004. The latest available statistics for 2002–03 showed that general and acute beds increased by 1,600 205W to 136,679 over the previous three years. This represents over three quarters of the target set out in the NHS Plan. This is the first time general and acute bed numbers have increased in three consecutive years since records began in 1960.