Availability of Beds in the NHS

Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:25 pm on 19 September 2018.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:25, 19 September 2018

I thank you for that question. I really do wish you well in your new role in the Chamber. I expect to see you on many occasions in these questions, no doubt.

When you actually look at our bed numbers, last year we had over 400 additional beds throughout the whole system created to deal with winter pressure. So, that's essentially the size of a reasonably sized district general hospital of extra capacity within our system.

We do find even more acute pressure in the winter, as we regularly rehearse, and I'm sure we'll have opportunities to do so in the coming months. That is not just about beds within the hospital part of this; it's actually about getting people into supported social care to get them out of the hospitals. The flow is our biggest problem.

So, in that sense that isn't just about capacity; that's about how we manage demand and manage flows throughout our whole system. That is work that is being done in planning for this winter, with the Government working together with health boards, trusts and partners to try to make sure that we have the best possible response to the extraordinary demands we know our system faces in the winter.

We do still, though, have a higher proportion of beds for the population within Wales compared to England. We still look again at both bed numbers and bed occupancy, and, crucially, at how those numbers are used to make the whole system work and, in particular, the join between health and the social care system.