7,000 extra hospital beds created by NHS Wales

Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced that up to 7,000 extra hospital beds are being created by NHS Wales as it prepares for an increase in coronavirus cases.

Critical care capacity has more than doubled across Wales and 1,000 new ventilators are on order. Currently, just under half of these beds are occupied and just over half of these are being used to care for people coronavirus. The latest plans have been boosted by a large response from recently retired NHS staff ready to return to work – 1,300 healthcare professionals have already responded and 1,200 registered GP locums are preparing to enter the NHS Wales workforce. They will be supported by thousands of trainees.

Hospitals in Wales have 415 ventilators and a further 349 anaesthetic machines with ventilator capacity and 207 non-invasive ventilators. A further 1,035 ventilators are being procured by NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and through UK arrangements.

Gething said: “I have been overwhelmed by the response of health and care professionals to the calls we have made for their support. This is a humbling reminder of the commitment of our health and care staff. Over the last few days we have seen an increase in the pace and urgency of the response across Wales to prepare vital health and care services to meet the imminent challenges posed by coronavirus.”

Andrew Goodall, chief executive of NHS Wales, said: “Across Wales, training has been provided to upskill hundreds of staff who do not normally work in critical care. Extra areas have been identified in hospitals to provide more invasive ventilation to patients over and above the space normally available in critical care units. This is in addition to those areas identified as surge capacity for critically ill patients as part of existing plans to double capacity when needed. Health boards are working to ensure people who are critically ill are treated in our hospitals using existing and additional capacity.”