Observational studyPloS one2025
Long term trends in NHS inpatient bed provision in England, 1960-2020.
Observational study in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo examine the reduction in NHS inpatient hospital beds in England from 1960 until 2020, including five categories: Acute, Geriatric, Maternity, Mental Illness and Learning Disability beds; and to measure regional differences at the end of the study period.
designRetrospective observational study.
settingNHS in England.
participantsInpatient hospital beds.
main outcome measuresNHS inpatient bed provision per 100,000 population. Rate of reduction calculated as percentage change each year. NHS bed provision in 7 regions of England compared for the year 2019/20.
resultsNHS inpatient bed provision declined for sixty consecutive years. The overall reduction was 78.0% between 1960 and 2020. Greatest reduction was in Learning Disability beds (98.7%), followed by Mental Illness (90.6%), Geriatric (75.0%), Maternity (67.4%) and the least reduction in Acute beds (63.0%). There were two periods of accelerating rates of bed reduction, the first in the 1980s, and the second in the 2000s. At the end of the study period there was significant regional variation in bed numbers.
conclusionsBed reductions were a constant feature, with important differences between bed categories and across time. This needs to be addressed when planning for future pandemics and winter bed pressures. By the end of the study the NHS was no longer providing the same level of inpatient care in different regions of England, particularly for Learning Disability.
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