Hospital and Primary Care Trust occupancy rates "deeply worrying"

Henry Vann, Bedford and Kempston parliamentary campaigner for the Liberal Democrats, has highlighted statistics released by the Department for Health that reveal that Bedford health trusts have a worryingly high level of bed occupancy.

The optimum bed occupancy rate is between 82 and 85 per cent, whilst the average between the three trusts covering Bedford is over 90 per cent.

The three trusts covering the Bedford area (Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health and Social Care NHS Trust, and Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust) have an average occupancy rate over 90 per cent with 91, 92, and 88 per cent occupancy rates respectively.

Henry Vann said:

"It is clear that our local hospital and primary care trust is not getting the funding that it desperately needs to keep occupancy rates low.

"Our hard-working medical staff are doing their best in difficult circumstances, with centralised targets and a lack of proper funding.

"Whilst a high-level of mental health and social care occupancy is understandable, I still find it deeply worrying that as we head into winter, when inevitably more beds are needed, we have such a high level of occupancy."