get us and uk politics insight with our free daily email briefing straight to your inbox invalid email something went wrong, please try again later. sign up thank you for subscribing we have more newsletters show me see our privacy notice nhs hospital beds numbers have plunged by 20% over the past decade and left the health service at “breaking point”, the british medical association warned. analysis by the bma found the number of overnight beds in english hospitals fell by a fifth between 2006/7 and 2015/16. bma chairman mark porter said: “the uk already has the second lowest number of hospital beds per head in europe per head ,and these figures paint an even bleaker picture of an nhs that is at breaking point. “high bed occupancy is a symptom of wider pressure and demand on an overstretched and underfunded system. it causes delays in admissions, operations being cancelled and patients being unfairly and sometimes repeatedly let down.” the bma’s new report found that in the first week of january this year, almost three-quarters of trusts had a bed occupancy rate of 95% on at least one day. according to the analysis, in 2000 there were an average of 3.8 beds per 1,000 people, but this had dropped to 2.4 beds by 2015. image: universal images group the report said that in november 2016, 14.8% of patients spent more than four hours waiting for a hospital bed, having been seen in an a&e department. “the data demonstrates the increasing pressures on the system,” dr porter said. “it provides evidence of the underlying cracks within the nhs, such as funding constraints, changes and increases in demand, disjointed care and workforce pressures,” the bma report said. it noted that pressures on mental health services were particularly acute, with a 44% decrease in the number of mental health beds since 2000/01. the document was seized on by opposition politicians, with labour saying it was a “wake-up call which theresa may must not ignore” and the liberal democrats warning the situation was becoming “intolerable”. image: moment rf shadow health secretary jonathan ashworth said: “thanks to tory mishandling of our nhs, patient numbers in hospitals are now routinely above the levels recommended for safety. the shameful reality is this overcrowding puts patients at risk and blows apart ministers’ claims to be prioritising safety. “the number of overnight hospital beds has decreased by over a fifth, and combined with tory neglect and underfunding this has left nine out of 10 hospitals dangerously overcrowded this winter.” lib dem spokesman and former health minister norman lamb added: “chronic bed shortages should be the exception not the rule. “the situation is getting intolerable, with more cancelled operations, longer delays and those with mental health issues being systematically let down. “the government is failing to properly fund the nhs and patients are paying the price.” a nhs improvement spokeswoman said: “the nhs has been under real pressure this winter, as it copes with a surge in demand for emergency services the knock-on effects are felt throughout our hospitals. “our hospitals are extremely busy but we are working tirelessly alongside providers to help them manage and to support more efficient use of the number of beds available.”
state wise to wait and see fate of health reform law