Revealed: the 82 'ghost wards' containing 1,400 empty NHS beds

NHS England figures show hospitals are mothballing more wards despite beds crisis

Hospitals are mothballing scores of wards, closing them to patients despite the NHS’s ongoing beds crisis, new figures reveal.

At the last count in September 82 “ghost wards” were recorded containing 1,429 empty beds, the equivalent of two entire hospitals, according to data provided by hospital trusts across England. It represents a sharp increase on the 32 wards and 502 beds that were unused four years earlier, statistics obtained under freedom of information laws show.

Continue reading... April 13, 2018 at 04:31AM