Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the average bed occupancy rate in hospitals.

Bed availability and occupancy is managed at a local level. Hospitals have a responsibility in ensuring that they are operating with the necessary beds available to support effective patient flow and safety.

There has been a long-term trend in the reduction of beds open overnight. A shift towards day case procedures, along with decreasing average length of stay, has reduced the demand for overnight beds in hospital.

NHS England publishes quarterly information on the numbers of available and occupied beds open overnight or day only in National Health Service organisations in England these data are available at the following links:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/bed-data-overnight/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/bed-data-day-only/