Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department issues guidance on a target ratio of step-down beds to acute beds in an acute hospital’s catchment area.

Neither the Department nor NHS England have issued specific guidance on a national fixed target ratio for step-down beds to acute beds. The number of step-down beds should be determined by local population needs and patient flow assessments.

Since 2024, NHS England supports this local determination by making available data on the use and occupancy of community beds, which may provide step-down or step-up care, available to systems and service providers.