From todays The Times -
"The number of hospital beds in England has fallen by almost 3,000 since ministers promised 5,000 before winter, prompting warnings that patients are being “warehoused” in emergency departments.
Nurses are run ragged dealing with the equivalent of a full ward of patients waiting in casualty departments due to a lack of beds , and patients are receiving “less good care, in the wrong place”, the UK’s top A&E doctor said."
"Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund, said: “The UK has fewer hospital beds per person than many comparable countries and this is a key reason for why the NHS comes under serious pressure every year and waiting times for patients reach eye-watering levels.”
A lack of beds has ripple effects through the rest of the system, he said, meaning A&E departments filled up with patients who needed admission and ambulances could not transfer patients into A&E and get back on the road."