Hospital Beds: Dorset

(asked on 30th October 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beds at University Hospitals Dorset were occupied on (a) 1 April and (b) 1 October 2025 by patients with no criteria to reside.


Answered by
Zubir Ahmed Portrait
Zubir Ahmed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 3rd December 2025

Information about how many beds are occupied by patients with no criteria to reside by trust is published by NHS England, and this information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/discharge-delays/acute-discharge-situation-report/

The following table shows how many beds at University Hospitals Dorset were occupied by patients with no criteria to reside for 1 April 2025 and 1 October 2025:

Date

Number of patients remaining in hospital who no longer meet the criteria to reside

1 April 2025

186

1 October 2025

194

Source: NHS England

To support trusts to reduce the number of beds occupied by patients with no criteria to reside, the Government published a new policy framework in January 2025 for the £9 billion Better Care Fund. This holds the National Health Service and local authorities accountable for setting and achieving joint goals for reducing discharge delays and preventing avoidable emergency admissions. Some challenged systems are also receiving a programme of improvement support.

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