Full report by the BMA can be found here, 25 June 2018
The reports key findings were as follows:
- beds have reduced by an average of 140 per STP footprint since 2014/15 – a fall of over 6000 at a national level – bed numbers have decreased in 29 of 44 STP footprints since 2014/15
- the largest decrease in bed numbers amongst STP footprints was 21%, whilst the largest increase was 22%
- the 10 STP footprints that experienced the largest reduction in bed numbers also saw the most rapid deterioration in performance
- all but 3 STPs have said they have no plans to reduce bed numbers, in many cases showing significant divergence from their original plans
- several STPs appeared not to have carried out any analysis of the bed capacity across their health system
- projections suggest that by 2019/20, there will be approximately 125,000 beds in the NHS
The full report includes recommendations from the BMA