11,000 Beds Cut From Scots Hospitals

Hospitals in Scotland have 11,000 fewer beds than they had 10 years ago, it emerged yesterday. The nation now has fewer beds for the acutely ill per head of population than the UK as a whole, according to official figures. France, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria are among the developed countries with greater hospital capacity. A fact-sheet for First Minister Jack McConnell about NHS Scotland, obtained by the Scottish National Party under freedom of information legislation, shows there were 39,668 beds in Scottish hospitals in 1996-97. By March this year, that figure had dropped to 28,257.

Audit Scotland, the public spending watchdog, has reported that Scotland has more acute beds per head than England, but tables from the Scottish Executive’s Futures Project, examining the challenges of the next 20 years, show Scotland has fewer acute beds per 1000 people than the UK. Dr Andrew Walker, a health economist, said there were arguments in favour of reducing hospital beds, but he added: “The English had a national beds inquiry six years ago and are taking decisions on the basis of it, whereas in Scotland we have left 15 health boards to make their own decisions in light of local circumstances and this is the result. I would be happier if it was the result of co-ordinated policy.”

Thousands of beds have been cut in geriatric medicine, learning disabilities, and psychiatry in Scotland, reflecting policies under which more patients with long-term problems are looked after in the community. However, more than 1000 surgical beds have also vanished and there are hundreds fewer in maternity.

Last week, at a British Medical Association conference Scottish doctors called for a moratorium on cuts to acute bed numbers. Dr Lewis Morrison, the member of the BMA’s Scottish council who proposed the motion, said clinicians were worried bed numbers had been reduced for the sake of reducing bed numbers, not because of demand.

Nicola Sturgeon, Holyrood leader for the SNP, said yesterday: “The executive’s policy of cutting the number of beds in the NHS has gone far too far. We now have fewer acute beds per 1000 population than in the rest of the UK, yet the health minister refuses to recognise the folly of this policy. We should now reverse this process and start to increase the number of acute staffed beds.”

However, Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Health Minister, said: “Calling for more NHS beds overlooks basic facts and simply fails to understand the modern NHS. What matters is how quickly and effectively people are treated, and waiting times have fallen dramatically in recent years. “The bulk of the drop in bed numbers is from people who have conditions such as learning disabilities, who now, rightly, get supported to stay in the community rather than in institutions.

“The much smaller drop in acute beds reflects that advances in medical science mean many procedures are now routinely carried out in a few hours without the need for any overnight stay.”

Mr Macdonald added that in 1990, cataract patients would spend an average of 5.3 days in hospital. By 2000, he said, most went home on the day of the operation. The reduction in obstetric beds is said to reflect the falling birth rate. Capacity in some hospitals departments has grown. The number of intensive care beds has increased by almost 20% in the past five years.