The NHS has met its target of rolling out 5,000 additional permanent, staffed beds this winter.
Recently published figures show that in the week ending 21 January, hospitals across the country had an average of 99,750 core beds in place each day, this is up 2,000 since the start of the year (97,619 w/e 31 Dec) to align with the expected peak in Covid and flu admissions.
The 5,000 extra beds target was set from a baseline of 94,500, the original level of core beds planned by NHS trusts in 2022/23. The NHS now has a total of 103,277 general and acute beds in place – more than 1,800 more than the same week last year.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “A year ago we launched our Urgent and emergency care recovery plan, setting out how we planned to improve patient experience by boosting capacity with thousands more beds, new ambulances, and the expansion of measures like our world-leading virtual ward programme, community response teams and care ‘traffic control centres’.
“Today’s figures show that thanks to the remarkable hard work of NHS staff, we have now rolled out an additional 5,000 extra ‘core’ beds – permanent, staffed beds – which, alongside the other measures in our plan, are helping the NHS better manage increased winter pressures, significant demand, and rising numbers of patients with seasonal viruses.
“They also reveal why the NHS needed to grow its capacity – with more than 19 in 20 adult beds occupied last week, as staff deal with increased demand, fuelled by rising numbers of flu admissions.
“We know NHS staff are working tirelessly to deliver the best possible care under real pressure. And by boosting capacity alongside other key steps in the recovery plan, we have seen improved waiting times for patients, which were better every month in 2023 than the year before. Category 2 ambulance response times were also an average of 47 minutes faster in December 2023 than in December 2022.
“But we know there is still further to go, which is why we will continue to expand these measures in the coming months.”
Health and social care secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I want faster, simpler, fairer health care for all our patients. These 5,000 new beds will make a real difference to patient care so I am delighted that we have hit this target, and I want to thank all the NHS staff who have worked to deliver this.
“Additional staffed beds are a core component of our Urgent and emergency care recovery plan, backed by £1 billion of dedicated funding, which sets a clear vision for how we are working to cut waiting times, helping ensure everyone is able to receive the help and care they need.”
