This data covers a time period during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has affected NHS services. During the pandemic, hospital services in Wales were reorganised due to enhanced infection prevention and control measures, and the need to treat COVID and non-COVID patients separately. Subsequently, planned operations were significantly reduced and non-urgent emergency admissions decreased. As a result, hospitals experienced lower occupancy rates in 2020-21 than in previous years. This table presents summary information, from the QueSt1 return, provided by the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), on bed use in Wales. Data presented in this statistical release are an annual average and illustrate yearly changing occupancy rates and bed availability. Therefore, these data won’t reflect changing levels of activity throughout the year. The data do not present data on average length of stay, turnover interval and bed use factor. These indicators are calculated using data on deaths and discharges which is no longer collected via the QS1 return, and need to be derived from the Patient Episode Database for Wales (PEDW) for 2012-13 onwards. When carrying out more detailed analysis of the deaths and discharges data from PEDW in preparation for the 2012-13 release, data quality issues arose in relation to assessment unit (AU) activity reporting in QS1 and in PEDW and how this should be treated in the data. It was identified that there is inconsistency in the reporting of assessment units, with some LHBs reporting AU activity within their beds data, and others omitting them. This inconsistency in the reporting of AU activity is also likely to affect historic data. Please find information on changes to the data published on NHS beds, as per the given weblink.

The number of available hospital beds in NHS England decreased overall in the recorded time period, reaching a low of 118,473 in 2020/21. The number of hospital beds has since increased to pre-pandemic levels and shows the first signs of growing. As of Q1 2024/25*, there were 131,875 overnight, consultant-led hospital beds in the NHS England.

Average daily number of available and occupied beds by sector, NHS organisations in England Source: Department of Health (DoH) Publisher: Department of Health Geographies: Primary Care Trust (PCT), Strategic Health Authority (SHA) Geographic coverage: England Time coverage: 2000-2001 to 2007-2008 Type of data: Administrative data

The number of hospital beds in the United Kingdom has undergone a decline since the year 2000. Whereas in 2000, there were around 240 thousand beds in the UK, by 2023 this figure was approximately 166 thousand. This means over this period, there were around 74 thousand fewer hospital beds in the UK. However, since 2020, the number of hospital beds has been increasing, the first time in the recorded time period. Fewer beds but admissions are still high There were almost 18.5 million admissions to hospital between April 2024 to March 2025 in England. The number of admissions has recovered since the drop in year 2020/21. The busiest hospital trust in England by admissions in the year 2024/25 was the University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust with over 391.5 thousand admissions. The average length of stay in hospitals in the UK in 2022 for acute care was nearly eight days. Accident and Emergency In the second quarter of 2024/5, A&E in England received around 6.7 million attendees. The number of attendances has been creeping upwards since 2012. Around 4 percent of people attending A&E in the last year were diagnosed with either an upper or lower respiratory tract infection, the most common diagnosis.

The number of available hospital beds in Wales decreased from 12,149 in 2010/11 to 10,276 in 2020/21. Since then, the number of hospital beds has slightly increased, reaching 10,447 by 2023/24.

Following public consultation these publications will be released as a single publication on a yearly basis from September 2011: Annual summary of outpatient activity Annual summary of inpatient and day case activity, procedures and diagnoses Annual summary of bed statistics Annual summary of childhood hospital admissions Emergency and Multiple Admissions Length of stay information Same day surgery information Allied Health Professional and Nurse Led clinics data Source agency: ISD Scotland (part of NHS National Services Scotland) Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Annual Acute Hospital Activity and NHS Beds information

Description

The purpose of this initiative is to build an integrated dataset on Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and their availability by country and region (at the highest regional granularity provided by the sources), using a data model standardized across countries.

Currently, ICU data is stored in different country-specific sources, with a wide range of access points (national websites, APIs, excel or csv files, etc.)

Given current COVID-19 crisis, we believe that this information should be provided with the following: * common standardized structure * single point of access * open to the public

We hope that these datasets will further benefit researchers and help us in the fight against COVID-19.

Countries and sources:

• Italy (as of 2019 - source: Ministero della Salute)
• United Kingdom
  • England (as of 2020 - source: NHS England)
  • Wales (as of 2019 - source: StatsWales)
  • Scotland (as of 1998, projected on 2020 whole figure - sources: Scottish Health Directorate & Herald Scotland)
  • Northern Ireland (as of 2020, w/o sub-area granularity - source: Derry Journal)
• US (as of 2018 - source: Harvard Global Health Institute)
• Spain (as of 2013 - source: Medicina Intensiva)
• Germany (updated daily, not complete - source DIVI Intensiv Register)

In order to provide an effective, safe and efficient service to patients, hospitals must balance the provision of staffed beds against anticipated demand. Historically, the total number of beds has been reducing in line with evolving models of healthcare provision which aim to reduce the frequency and duration of hospital admissions and improve the integration of health and social care services. This strategy aims to improve outcomes for patients and reduce the likelihood of future hospital admissions. Further information on hospital beds can be found in the recent annual publication. The date of the next release can be found on our list of forthcoming publications. As part of making our open data output align better with our annual publication tables, we have applied column ordering to the Inpatient, Outpatient and Beds files in the September 2021 annual open data release consistent with the publication excel tables.

This data package contains the hospital bed availability and occupancy data by consultant main specialty and sector as well as data on inpatient and outpatient related hospital activity in England. It also contains information on Sub-Saharan public hospitals.

This data package contains information about Acute Hospital for Outpatient Activity Cross Boundary Flow, statistics on attendances at Accident and Emergency (A&E) services and Emergency Hospital Admissions due to Unintentional Injuries. It also includes information for Inpatient and Daycase Activity Stays and Episodes by Health Board Residence and Treatment as well as NHS Staffed Beds and Percentage Occupancy and Procedures Performed for Children In An Acute Setting For NHS Scotland.

The number of available hospital beds in Northern Ireland has slowly decreased from 7,266 in 2009/10 to 5,672 in 2020/21. In 2021/22 and 2022/23, available hospitals beds increased before dropping to even lower than pre-pandemic levels and stood at 5,198 in 2023/34.

This dataset provides information on the total number of available and occupied bed days for facility wards open "overnight" and "day only" by NHS (National Health Service) Trust by Sector.

Virtual wards (also known as hospital at home) allow patients to get the care they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital. This includes either preventing avoidable hospital admissions or supporting people to safely leave hospital sooner. Systems are asked to continue to embed, standardise and scale virtual ward capacity, ensuring that local virtual ward services are aligned to local demand for both children and adults. This is outlined in the 2025/26 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance and the Neighbourhood Health Guidelines 2025/26. This data is published on the NHS England website. Please follow the link below.

This dataset includes information split by location for health board of available staffed beds, hospital and council area. Due to the variability in the number of available beds in a ward or specialty, the total number of available beds is calculated by taking the average of the number of beds available in each day of the quarter and percentage occupancy for acute specialties for acute hospital care services.

London was the city in the United Kingdom with the highest costs for constructing a general hospital in 2024. Meanwhile, among cities included in this selection, Leeds was the cheapest one to build that kind of structure. The expenses of such a construction in London were over *** British pounds higher than in Glasgow. The capital of the UK is the most expensive area for public building construction. Hospital bed numbers still in decline The number of hospital beds in the UK has been declining since 2000. Between 2000 and 2020, figures decreased from ******* to ******* number of beds. The reduction in hospital beds is, among other reasons, attributed to technical improvements in surgery rooms, patients with mental health problems being treated in different settings, and most importantly, cuts to NHS funding. However, the number of beds increased slightly again in 2021 and 2022. Increased healthcare spend Despite past funding cuts and declining availability of hospital beds, healthcare spending has significantly increased in the past twenty years. In 2022, expenditure reached a peak of nearly *** billion British pounds, whereas in 2000, this figure amounted to ** billion British pounds. The value of healthcare expenditure as a share of GDP also increased significantly in the past years.

United Kingdom UK: Hospital Beds: per 1000 People data was reported at 2.900 Number in 2011. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.980 Number for 2010. United Kingdom UK: Hospital Beds: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 4.600 Number from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2011, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.700 Number in 1960 and a record low of 2.900 Number in 2011. United Kingdom UK: Hospital Beds: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Hospital beds include inpatient beds available in public, private, general, and specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers. In most cases beds for both acute and chronic care are included.; ; Data are from the World Health Organization, supplemented by country data.; Weighted average;

In 2016 and 2018, parents in England were asked to rate their experience with the facilities for staying overnight at NHS hospitals during their child's stay. According to the results, ** percent of parents found the facilities for their overnight stay at the hospital to be very good, compared to ** percent who rated their stay as very good in 2016.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, information on NHS staff absence has been published to support transparency and understanding of NHS activity and capacity. Figures show the number and percentage of NHS staff absent due to COVID-19 related illness, self-isolation or otherwise by date. The data are taken from management information and are subject to change. They have not been subject to the same validation processes undertaken for official statistics releases.

Monthly data on critical care bed use and cancelled urgent operations

Source agency: NHS England

Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Critical care bed capacity and cancelled operations: monthly situation reports

This publication reports on Admitted Patient Care activity in England for the financial year 2023-24. This report includes but is not limited to analysis of hospital episodes by patient demographics, diagnoses, external causes/injuries, operations, bed days, admission method, time waited, specialty, provider level analysis and Adult Critical Care (ACC). It describes NHS Admitted Patient Care Activity, Adult Critical Care activity and performance in hospitals in England. The purpose of this publication is to inform and support strategic and policy-led processes for the benefit of patient care and may also be of interest to researchers, journalists and members of the public interested in NHS hospital activity in England. The data source for this publication is Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). It contains final data and replaces the provisional data that are released each month. HES contains records of all admissions, appointments and attendances at NHS-commissioned hospital services in England. The HES data used in this publication are called 'Finished Consultant Episodes', and each episode relates to a period of care for a patient under a single consultant at a single hospital. Therefore, this report counts the number of episodes of care for admitted patients rather than the number of patients. This publication shows the number of episodes during the period, with breakdowns including by patient's age, gender, diagnosis, procedure involved and by provider. Please send queries or feedback via email to enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk. Author: Secondary Care Open Data and Publications, NHS England. Lead Analyst: Karl Eichler