Manchester’s Hospitals Axe 350 Beds

Research by a local newspaper reveals that more than 350 hospital beds have been axed from hospitals throughout Greater Manchester in the last two years. These bed cuts have caused already-full hospitals to struggle with demand during busy periods and they are causing a number of problems for hospitals throughout the region.

Hospital chiefs said that these cuts are justified due to an increase in efficiency and a rise in the number of patients being cared for in the community. However, doctors believe otherwise and say that the cuts have left no slack in the system.

The NHS is currently under a great deal of pressure due to the effects of the winter vomiting virus. In fact, they are currently so short of beds that NHS bosses in south Manchester have paid for extra wards in a BUPA private unit and at a nearby NHS trust.

Don MacKechnie, MUST chairman of the British Medical Association’s Emergency Medicine Committee, believes that axing these beds could be problematic for patients and staff. He said: "When hospitals are under financial pressure and cut beds…it can cause major problems. If you do not have the beds available it becomes difficult to admit people from accident and emergency. The system is under pressure, we have seen wards closed with staff and patients suffering from winter vomiting sickness."

While there have been no major changes in the number of beds at Stockport or Christies Cancer Hospital, many other hospitals in the region have been forced to cut beds, including Tameside General, St Mary’s, MRI, Trafford General and the Royal Bolton Hospital. Happily, Hope Hospital bucked this trend and now boasts three extra beds.

Many of the beds that have been closed throughout the region were previously used for surgery, as staff now believe that many operations no longer require an overnight hospital stay. A further hundred beds have been moved out of hospitals and back into the community.

Source:

Manchester Evening News

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