Hospital Beds: Social Care Debate
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Baroness Brinton
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Hospital Beds: Social Care
Baroness Brinton Excerpts(1 year, 11 months ago)
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Lord Markham (Con)
I will happily write on the detail, but, yes, it includes everyone who could be provided a space, either in a care home or a mental health home, and those who are fit to go home but need domiciliary care.
Baroness Brinton (LD)
My Lords, Our Plan for Patients, which was published at the end of September, says:
“This winter, the NHS will open up the equivalent of 7,000 beds so that every hospital has space to see and treat patients more quickly.”
Winter is clearly here, so how many of those virtual beds are in operation now?
Lord Markham (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness. She is absolutely right that the target of 7,000 beds is a key part of this. All Ministers have been talking about it with every ICB over the last few days to see exactly where they are on the target for both real beds and virtual beds. I will happily provide exact information on the target, but I know that we are making good progress.