NHS has lost more than 6,000 beds in last four years

New British Medical Association (BMA) figures have revealed that the NHS has lost more than 6,000 beds across the country over the last four years, prompting warnings that under-resourcing in hospitals is hampering patient care.

The analysis of data shows that beds have reduced by an average of 140 per Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) footprint since 2014/15, representing a decline of over 6,000 at a national level, with the 10 STP footprints that experienced the largest reduction in bed numbers also experiencing the most rapid deterioration in performance.

Of further concern, projections suggest that there will be approximately only 125,000 beds in the NHS by 2019/20. A recent NHS England board meeting suggested that a minimum of 4,000 extra beds are needed if the health system is to get through next winter.

Dr Robert Harwood, BMA consultants committee chair, said: “These figures should act as a wakeup call to politicians. Having enough beds is integral to the smooth running of the NHS - this is clear from our analysis which shows that those parts of the country that have lost the most beds have also seen their performance deteriorate faster.

“The UK already has the second lowest number of hospital beds per head in Europe and these figures paint an even bleaker picture for the future. Patients are already facing unacceptably long waits to be seen and the indignity of being treated in hospital corridors, and this is only set to get worse. We urgently need the government to outline a sustainable new funding plan for the NHS to ensure that enough beds are available to meet the needs of patients.”