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THE NHS has half the number of hospital beds than impoverished Romania, a meeting of Britain’s leading doctors has been told.
There are now an average of just three beds per 1,000 people in the UK, compared with more than six in Romania and eight in Germany.
Senior medics claim the cuts have led to overcrowding and the spread of infections.
One surgeon even admitted his workload is now just a third of what it was in the 1960s because he does not have enough beds for his patients to recover in.
The NHS has cut overnight beds by 10 per cent since 2010/11, in a drive to encourage earlier discharge from hospital and more home care.
Delegates at the British Medical Association’s Annual representative meeting, in Belfast, voted “overwhelmingly” to call on the government to halt its drive to slash the number of beds.
BMA council chairman Dr Mark Porter said the policy was going “too far”.
He warned of a risk of infection when bed occupancy rates exceed 85 per cent. Many hospitals are at more than 90 per cent.
Consultant Richard Hardingham, who proposed the motion, said: “Patients are being harmed because they are being sent home as there are no beds available.”
And the ear, nose and throat surgeon, from Cheltenham, added: “For those of us who work in surgical wards, we know only too well what it’s like to come in in the morning and find orthopaedic outliers, which means one can’t get one’s own patients into beds and have to send them home.
“I have been working long enough to remember that working in the 1960s, I would say that probably then, I did at least twice as many cases in a day’s work, possibly three times, and this is largely due to difficulties with beds.
“The recovery wards get blocked up because they can’t move people out into the hospital beds, and so patients who have been booked just have to be sent home.
“Paediatrics patients’ and their families often have to travel long distances to a bed, particular when there are epidemics.”
Dr Mary McCarthy told the meeting of 500 doctors: “Hospital beds in the UK have been steadily eroded without the corresponding increase in social care that is needed to support this move.
“The UK has less than 300 beds per 100,000 people, and in Shropshire, where I am, it’s less than 200.
“In the Irish Republic a few miles south of here it’s about 500, in Belgium it’s over 650, in France it’s over 700, in Germany it’s over 800, in Austria it’s over 700, in Romania it’s over 600.
“Do we really need to keep cutting beds?
“Are we not finding that our hospitals are bulging at the seams with people who should be there but are discharged home too early and unsafely?
“In Europe there is little need for the extensive out of hours services that we have.
“If you are ill and can wait until morning you see your GP, if you are ill and you can’t wait you go to hospital where there is plenty of room.”
Dr Porter said: “In theory, reducing the number of acute beds may appear beneficial as the NHS can supposedly exploit the reductions in length of stay to help treat more patients.
“However, this can be taken too far.
“If average bed occupancy goes up above about 85% there can be a rise in the risk of cross infection between patients, and it is less likely that an appropriate bed will be available for acute patients as they come in.
“This latter will lead to increased waits for an appropriate bed or being admitted to an inappropriate ward, for example with knock-on effects whereby another patient might have elective surgery postponed
“While this policy might make sense if you are looking for short term cuts, it can have serious implications for quality and cost of care in the longer term.
“We need to carefully monitor the number of beds available and ensure that we are putting patients first when it comes to deciding how many beds are available in the NHS.”
Heidi Alexander, Labour’s shadow health secretary, said: “Senior doctors are absolutely right to raise the alarm about the state of the NHS in England – and how services are falling behind our European neighbours.
“The truth is you can’t slash the number of hospital beds if there is still a need for them.
“The Government talk a good game about the need for care to be carried out as close to home as possible, but at the moment it is still a mirage.
“Nearly two-thirds of hospital beds are occupied by people over the age of 65 – until we sort out the problems of social care and redesign NHS services to address the needs of our ageing population, reducing the number of hospital beds is a dangerous game to be playing.
“Ministers must listen carefully to the warnings from the BMA and start taking action to improve the care patients are receiving.”
An NHS England spokesman said: “It is important that patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
“The hospital is not a home and we know that, when given the choice, patients often prefer to receive care as close to their home as possible.
“It is for local NHS leaders to determine the best mix of care for the populations they serve – they will rightly consider community and home care as well as hospital beds.”
Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, said: “At the very heart of the NHS is the ability to treat patients in a professional, caring and dignified manner.
“We can’t do this if we are unable to provide patients with hospital beds.
“It is therefore of great concern to us to learn that there are fewer beds in English hospitals compared to other countries.
“Adequate funding is hugely important to the survival of the NHS.
“A lack of finances has inevitably resulted in withdrawal of services and bed shortages.
“This impacts on the NHS’s ability to provide good quality dignified patient care.
“Having a reduced number of available hospital beds results in long waiting lists, which in turn puts pressure on community services, as well as already over-stretched A&E departments.
“Clearly there is an urgent need to address the funding issues that plague our NHS, as it is ultimately patients who end up suffering due to lack of proper investment.”
Mike Adamson, chief executive of British Red Cross, said: “Increasing more beds alone will not help solve this problem.
“This country is facing a social care crisis. Without the proper care systems in place to return people home, thousands of patients will continue to be stuck in limbo.
“No one chooses to be stuck on a hospital bed when they could be in their own homes, rebuilding their lives.
“The Government has already set aside funds to be invested in health and social care.
“However, the bulk of this money won’t be available for another two years.
“These funds are needed now – to support people who are currently stranded in hospital due to the gap in care provision and to help prevent thousands from being admitted to hospital in the first place.”