Bed count ‘not a measure of care’

The number of NHS beds has fallen by a third over the past 20 years as a result of improvements in care, including better joint working with social services, the NHS Confederation has said.

It dismissed the idea that bed count was a measure of care quality and called for a debate about the future shape of NHS investment into hospitals in a report released this week. It also said joint working between health and social care had created capacity in the community.

Why We Need Fewer Hospital Beds