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NHS Hospitals: Bed Availability
Baroness Cumberlege asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the number of beds in NHS hospitals each year since 1948.
Baroness Jay of Paddington: The information is shown in the following table.
| Year | England | Scotland | Wales | Northern Ireland | Yearly Total |
| 1949 | --(38) | --(39) | 23,503 | -- | 23,503 |
| 1950 | --(38) | --(39) | 24,234 | -- | 24,234 |
| 1951 | --(38) | --(39) | 24,435 | -- | 24,435 |
| 1952 | --(38) | --(39) | 25,056 | -- | 25,056 |
| 1953 | --(38) | --(39) | 25,675 | -- | 25,675 |
| 1954 | --(38) | --(39) | 25,747 | -- | 25,747 |
| 1955 | --(38) | --(39) | 25,992 | -- | 25,992 |
| 1956 | --(38) | --(39) | 26,265 | -- | 26,265 |
| 1957 | --(38) | --(39) | 26,498 | -- | 26,498 |
| 1958 | --(38) | --(39) | -- | -- | -- |
| 1959 | --(38) | --(39) | 26,436 | -- | 26,436 |
| 1960 | 447,457 | --(39) | 26,258 | -- | 473,715 |
| 1961 | 442,343 | --(39) | 27,086 | -- | 469,429 |
| 1962 | 440,316 | --(39) | 27,212 | -- | 467,528 |
| 1963 | 439,176 | --(39) | 27,381 | -- | 466,557 |
| 1964 | 438,404 | --(39) | 27,374 | -- | 465,778 |
| 1965 | 437,408 | --(39) | 27,124 | -- | 464,532 |
| 1966 | 434,846 | --(39) | 26,840 | -- | 461,686 |
| 1967 | 434,378 | --(39) | 26,841 | -- | 461,219 |
| 1968 | 432,140 | --(39) | 26,734 | -- | 458,874 |
| 1969 | 428,737 | --(39) | 26,563 | -- | 455,300 |
| 1970 | 423,621 | 62,888 | 26,110 | -- | 512,619 |
| 1971 | 419,612 | 62,990 | 25,868 | -- | 508,470 |
| 1972 | 412,664 | 62,642 | 25,622 | -- | 500,928 |
| 1973 | 403,526 | 62,121 | 25,044 | -- | 490,691 |
| 1974 | 396,235 | 61,850 | 24,707 | -- | 482,792 |
| 1975 | 387,632 | 60,701 | 24,256 | -- | 472,589 |
| 1976 | 383,132 | 60,411 | 24,059 | -- | 467,602 |
| 1977 | 375,926 | 59,707 | 23,993 | -- | 459,626 |
| 1978 | 369,235 | 59,081 | 23,708 | -- | 452,024 |
| 1979 | 361,670 | 58,788 | 23,456 | -- | 443,914 |
| 1980 | 355,978 | 58,334 | 23,203 | -- | 437,515 |
| 1981 | 351,669 | 58,150 | 22,940 | 17,203 | 449,962 |
| 1982 | 348,104 | 57,928 | 22,441 | -- | 428,473 |
| 1983 | 343,091 | 57,119 | 22,412 | 16,976 | 439,598 |
| 1984 | 334,513 | 57,342 | 22,295 | 16,715 | 430,865 |
| 1985 | 325,487 | 56,802 | 21,999 | 16,595 | 420,883 |
| 1986 | 315,714 | 55,955 | 21,565 | 15,962 | 409,196 |
| 1987-88 | 297,338 | 55,338 | 21,103 | 15,410 | 389,189 |
| 1988-89 | 282,897 | 54,487 | 20,504 | 14,684 | 372,572 |
| 1989-90 | 270,309 | 53,448 | 19,855 | 14,154 | 357,766 |
| 1990-91 | 255,479 | 52,121 | 19,414 | 13,487 | 340,501 |
| 1991-92 | 242,677 | 50,640 | 19,640 | 12,600 | 325,557 |
| 1992-93 | 232,201 | 48,738 | 18,078 | 11,712 | 310,729 |
| 1993-94 | 219,476 | 46,731 | 17,475 | 10,878 | 294,560 |
| 1994-95 | 211,812 | 44,186 | 16,834 | 10,356 | 283,188 |
| 1995-96 | 206,136 | 42,351 | 15,951 | 10,054 | 274,492 |
Notes:
England:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1987-88.
(38) Information can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Scotland:
(39) Information can only be provided at disproportionate cost. Information on average available staffed beds in Scotland indicates the average daily number of beds which are staffed and available for the reception of inpatients and day cases. Borrowed and temporary beds are included. Figures are shown from 1970--figures for earlier years are not readily available.
Wales:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1983-84.
Northern Ireland:
Moved to counting over the financial year than calendar year from 1988-89. Complete information is not available for 1982 due to an industrial dispute. Information before 1981, if available, can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Baroness Cumberlege asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Jay of Paddington: The information is shown in the following table.
Notes:
Finished consultant episodes (FCE's) are not the same as the number of patients treated because a hospital spell can consist of more than one FCE, and patients discharged too early who are subsequently readmitted as emergencies count as another FCE. Further more, an FCE count cannot by itself serve as a valid measure of productivity since it is not standardised over the time for any changes in the quality of treatment.
England:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1987-88.
(40) Figures for FCE's in these years are available only at disproportionate cost. In England the number of inpatient FCE's per available bed differs from information published in table 2 of the Statistical Bulletin NHS hospital activity statistics: England 1985 to 1995-96.Figures in the bulletin exclude well babies while the above figures include well babies. This is to ensure comparability as it was not possible to calculate figures excluding well babies back to 1974.
Scotland:
Wales:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1983-84.
Northern Ireland:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1988-89.
Complete information is not available for 1982 due to an industrial dispute.
Information before 1981, if available, can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Jay of Paddington: The information is shown in the following table.
Notes:
England:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1987-88.
Scotland:
Wales:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1983-84.
Northern Ireland:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather calendar year from 1988-89.
Complete information is not available for 1982 due to an industrial dispute.
Information before 1981, if available, can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
What was the number of inpatient cases per available bed each year since 1970.
Year England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Yearly Total
1970 --(40) 11.1 12.2 -- 23.3
1971 --(40) 11.3 12.5 -- 23.8
1972 --(40) 11.6 12.8 -- 24.4
1973 --(40) 11.4 12.8 -- 24.2
1974 14.5 11.6 13.3 -- 39.4
1975 14.3 11.5 13.2 -- 39.0
1976 15.3 12.2 14.1 -- 41.6
1977 15.8 12.5 14.3 -- 42.6
1978 16.2 12.5 14.7 -- 43.4
1979 16.6 12.6 14.9 -- 44.1
1980 17.7 13.1 15.8 -- 46.6
1981 18.3 13.5 16.4 15.2 63.4
1982 18.3 13.7 16.5 -- 48.5
1983 19.5 13.0 17.8 15.9 66.2
1984 20.5 14.0 18.6 16.5 69.6
1985 21.7 14.5 19.5 17.5 73.2
1986 22.6 15.0 20.2 18.2 76.0
1987-88 24.8 15.2 21.6 19.1 80.7
1988-89 25.9 16.0 22.3 20.7 84.9
1989-90 27.7 16.5 23.9 21.9 90.0
1990-91 29.5 17.2 24.9 23.3 94.9
1991-92 32.0 18.0 25.5 26.1 101.6
1992-93 33.7 18.9 27.9 29.3 109.8
1993-94 36.4 20.2 29.1 33.9 119.6
1994-95 38.1 21.6 30.5 37.5 127.7
1995-96 40.6 22.7 32.3 39.8 135.4
What has been the average daily number of available acute beds each year since 1970.
Year England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Yearly total
1970 162 33 13 -- 208
1971 162 33 13 -- 208
1972 162 33 11 -- 206
1973 160 33 11 -- 204
1974 160 33 11 -- 204
1975 157 31 11 -- 199
1976 157 32 10 -- 199
1977 154 32 10 -- 196
1978 152 32 10 -- 194
1979 149 32 10 -- 191
1980 146 32 10 -- 188
1981 145 32 10 10 197
1982 144 32 10 -- 186
1983 142 31 10 10 193
1984 139 32 10 10 191
1985 136 32 10 10 188
1986 133 31 10 9 183
1987-88 128 31 9 9 177
1988-89 123 31 9 9 172
1989-90 121 31 9 8 169
1990-91 117 31 9 8 165
1991-92 115 30 9 8 162
1992-93 113 29 9 7 158
1993-94 110 29 8 7 154
1994-95 108 28 9 7 152
1995-96 108 27 8 6 149
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