Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for a bed in hospital A&E wards.
Hospital capacity data as of 22 February 2022 is not yet available. As of 13 February 2022, NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that in England, there were 5,705 National Health Service hospital beds available each day on average, with overall occupancy of 93.7%. Data on hospitals exceeding full capacity is not collected centrally. Hospitals regularly plan for activity surges and can flexibly increase the number of beds available to meet demand.
No estimate has been made on the average waiting time for a bed in hospital accident and emergency (A&E) wards or of the impact of essential medical care. NHS England and NHS Improvement monitors A&E waiting times and the impact on patients. Patients requiring admission to hospital will have essential medical treatment commenced during their A&E care.