NHS commits to 5,000 more hospital beds as part of important two-year recovery plan

The NHS and the UK Government have published an important plan to help recover urgent and emergency care services, reduce waiting times, and improve patient experience.

Frontline capacity will be boosted further thanks to 800 new ambulances and 5,000 more sustainable hospital beds backed by a £1 billion dedicated fund.

Entitled ‘Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services’, the two-year NHS plan, which was published yesterday (30 Jan 2023), comes amid record demand for NHS services.

Urgent care provided in the community will be expanded to ensure people can get the care they need at home, without the need for a hospital admission.

These services will run for at least 12 hours a day – responding to calls normally requiring an ambulance crew – and will mean people who have fallen or are injured can get care and treatment at home within two hours.

Same-day emergency care units, staffed by consultants and nurses, will be open in every hospital with a major A&E, helping to transform patients’ experiences and allowing thousands of people each week to avoid an overnight hospital stay.

Freeing up space in hospitals and speeding up discharge for those who are medically fit to leave are key parts of the blueprint, which will see pilots of a new approach to NHS step-down care across the country, where patients will receive rehabilitation and physiotherapy including at home.

This scheme will ensure people have a smooth transition out of hospital, reducing the chances of re-admission while also potentially reducing long-term demand on social care.

The success of ‘virtual wards’, where patients receive high-tech care in their own home, is set to grow, with 7,000 virtual ward beds already in the community and up to 50,000 patients a month expected to benefit by the end of 2023/24.

Proven measures backed by clinicians and introduced as part of NHS winter planning will be expanded all year-round, with scaled-up falls response services and 24/7 system control centres 365 days a year, to help local areas track and quickly respond to pressures throughout the year.

One example of a successful falls response service is Hull Fall First. This falls pick up and wellbeing response service, involving the local ICS, fire and rescue service, ambulance service, local authority, and community services provider. A team of firefighters received clinical training from healthcare experts, along with safeguarding training and safety awareness.

The service has reduced the number of A&E attendances and provided a better patient experience for those who have had a fall. Since April the service has attended 622 people, avoiding ambulance call out and potential A&E attendance, and provided follow up care and support on falls prevention to people living in their own homes and local care homes.

Changes aimed at growing and better supporting the workforce will give NHS staff greater flexibility, making it easier for them to move between hospitals and work in services like 111, with more options for call handlers to work from home.

The number of emergency medical technicians will also be expanded, providing another entry route to working in the NHS, alongside greater use of student and apprentice paramedics and training more staff in mental health.

The two-year plan aims to stabilise services to meet the NHS’s two major recovery ambitions: to help achieve A&E four-hour performance of 76 percent by March 2024 and improve category two ambulance response times to an average of 30 minutes over the next year, with further improvement in the following year.

These ambitions represent one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in the NHS’ history, according to government.

NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “The NHS has been under more pressure than I have ever known in my 25 years working in the service – the threat of the ‘twindemic’ of flu and covid became a reality and that was alongside huge demand for all services – from ambulance and A&E services to mental health and GP appointments.

“We are incredibly grateful to the NHS staff who work day-in, day-out to deliver care to hundreds of thousands of people and for the extensive preparations put in place ahead of winter.

“We introduced more call handlers, more beds and 24/7 system control centres to manage increased demand, and this new plan sets out how we will boost that progress and help improve the experiences of patients who will benefit from quicker, better care, in the right setting.

“The front door to the NHS is often where we can see the pressures build up – and to relieve that pressure, we will continue to work with social care colleagues to free up space in hospitals so that people who are well enough to leave can be discharged and get the care they need at home or in the community.

“The history of the NHS is one of change and innovation and so, while striving to meet the needs of today’s patients, we are also looking to the future of the NHS and will shortly set out our workforce plan – which is a once in a generation opportunity to put the NHS on a sustainable footing.”

The government is making up to £14.1 billion available for health and social care over the next two years, on top of funding to improve urgent and emergency, elective, and primary care performance to pre-pandemic levels and to help alleviate the impact of inflation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commented: “Cutting NHS waiting times is one of my five priorities. Urgent and emergency care is facing serious challenges but we have an ambitious and credible plan to fix it.

“It will take time to get there but our plan will cut long waiting times by increasing the number of ambulances, staff and beds – stopping the bottlenecks outside A&E and making sure patients are seen and discharged quickly.

“If we meet this ambition, it will represent one of the fastest and longest sustained improvements in emergency waiting times in NHS history. I am determined to deliver this so that families across the country can get the care they need.”

The NHS, local government, and the social care sector will continue together to improve access to social care and ensure patients can be discharged safely and on time, according to the NHS.