Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to NHS England warning that up to half of hospital beds could be occupied by people with respiratory infections this winter, what steps they expect NHS Boards to take to respond to this challenge.

For winter 2022/23, the National Health Service is increasing bed capacity by the equivalent of at least 7,000 general and acute beds, including a combination of new physical beds and expanding the use of innovative virtual wards to treat patients safely at home. We are also establishing a £500 million Adult Social Care Discharge Fund to ensure that medically fit patients can be discharged, which will increase bed capacity and reduce long waiting times in accident and emergency.