§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the optimal level of bed occupancy to reduce trolley waits for emergency admissions and cancelled operations. [88561]
§ Mr. LammyI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 19 December 2002,Official Report, column 1039W.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Government's target is for occupancy levels in(a) general and (b) acute NHS beds; and what the levels were in 1997. [87533]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department has not issued any specific guidance on bed occupancy. 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.
In 1996–97 the bed occupancy level for general and acute NHS beds was 80.7 per cent. Over the last two years, the number of beds have increased, reversing a 40 year decline.