Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional critical care beds have been made available since the outbreak of covid-19.

It is the Government’s priority that the National Health Service has appropriate equipment to respond to Covid-19, this includes the provision of intensive care beds. The Department are working closely with the NHS England and the Devolved Administrations to ensure this.

NHS England routinely publishes information on Critical Care Bed Capacity which can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/critical-care-capacity/.

However, in response to Covid-19, some data collections have been suspended, which includes the one relating to Critical Care Bed Capacity. Further details can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/covid-19-and-the-production-of-statistics/.