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Care Homes: Hospital Beds

Asked by Andrew RosindellReform UKDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 4 February 2025UIN 26456

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with the private care home sector to improve bed capacity within the NHS.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock

Local authorities should determine the volume and type of services, including care home beds, that are required to meet their responsibilities under the Care Act 2014. National Health Service integrated care boards, local authorities, and providers should work together to ensure that efforts to discharge individuals from hospital into social care are joined up and make best use of available resources, in line with the duty to cooperate set out in Section 82 of the NHS Act 2006.

In December 2024 there were, on average, 12,000 adult patients in acute hospital beds per day with delayed discharges, 5% fewer than in December 2023.

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