Nine hundred new hospital beds will be delivered across the NHS as part of £250 million government funding to help treat patients more quickly this winter, the Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, has announced.
The funding has been awarded to NHS Trusts to relieve pressures and help cut waiting lists, one of the government’s top five priorities. Thirty NHS organisations across England will benefit from the investment in urgent and emergency care services. This includes developing or expanding urgent treatment centres and same day emergency care services which will help patients to be seen more quickly, without being admitted to hospital. NHS England expects that the majority of schemes will be completed by January to help deal with winter pressures.
This investment is part of the NHS Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan, published in January, which set out plans to provide over 5,000 additional permanent, fully staffed hospital beds in total, with the NHS on track to deliver this by winter. These new 900 beds are part of this commitment.
Examples of schemes include Peterborough City Hospital, where £12.5 million will be used to provide 72 hospital beds through the conversion of under-utilised non-clinical space. In London at the Northwick Park Hospital, a 32 bed modular acute medical ward is being created through a £22.6 million investment to increase the hospital’s capacity this winter.
Several Trusts will develop or expand urgent treatment centres to treat patients more quickly, helping to reduce waiting times, including Hull Royal Infirmary, James Cook University Hospital, Airedale General Hospital and Worthing Hospital.
Some Trusts will also use the funding to develop or expand same day emergency care services, including in Whipps Cross Hospital, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Croydon University hospital and Worthing Hospital. Same day emergency care services help to assess, diagnose and treat patients more quickly, without needing to be admitted to a hospital ward.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “We know that winter is a difficult time so we’re working to get ahead of pressures whilst also creating a sustainable NHS fit for the future. That’s why we’re investing this £250 million to support NHS capacity and deliver 900 new beds, as part of our drive to put in place 5,000 permanent additional beds.
“Creating additional hospital capacity will support staff to provide the best possible care and treat patients more quickly, helping us to improve waiting times and cut waiting lists - one of the government’s top five priorities.”
Responding the announcement, Siva Anandaciva, Chief Analyst at The King’s Fund, said: “Any extra capacity in the NHS to help reduce winter pressures is a positive thing. Our research into international healthcare systems found that the UK has relatively few hospital beds, with 2.5 beds per 1,000 people compared to an average of 3.2, placing the UK second to last out of 19 peer countries.
“But adding more beds to hospitals is only part of the equation. To improve care for patients the NHS also needs enough clinical professionals to staff these extra beds. While progress is being made to increase staffing numbers and deliver on the workforce plan, the NHS is facing 112,000 vacancies.
“Additionally, hospitals don’t work in isolation. The latest performance figures showed that 11,900 patients remained in hospital on an average day despite being medically fit to be discharged. To free up more beds and staff in hospitals, there needs to be a focus on boosting capacity in community and primary care settings as well as social care reform. Last year, we calculated that the direct cost of each delayed discharge was nearly £400 per night, and this added up to £1.9 billion spent over 2022/23. This shows that early investment for planning goes a long way to make better use of the NHS’s resources and improve care for patients.”
The director of the NHS Confederation's Acute Network, Rory Deighton, commented: ““Healthcare leaders are supportive of the aims of NHS England’s recovery plan and will welcome this funding to help deliver it. Increasing bed numbers is a sensible and necessary step to boost capacity and, if delivered, should help with both winter pressures and the timely care of the sickest patients. Leaders will be keen to utilise this funding as soon as possible.
“However, whether the extra 5000 beds that this money is partly for will be enough remains to be seen, but it is certainly a step in the right direction and the Trusts that are struggling most with performance and 12-hour A&E waits should benefit from this. NHS leaders may also have questions on how these beds will be safely staffed given that vacancy numbers remain high, the long-term workforce plan is in its infancy, and industrial action is ongoing. To give this initiative, and others, the best possible chance of success the government must find a way to bring nine months of strike action to a close.”
