Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the factors that restrict the patient capacity of Emergency Departments.

NHS England advise that patient capacity within emergency departments is multi-factorial and the reasons for restriction differ in each local health system. These factors can include long term growth in type 1 emergency department attendances over time and an increase in patients’ length of stay in hospital once admitted, restricting patient flow out of emergency departments. Nationally there has been an increase in patients who are spending longer than 21 days in hospital, which is currently 30% higher than in September 2019.

Each integrated care system is addressing these issues with the most challenged systems receiving support through the Discharge Taskforce programme. Initiatives such as same day emergency care and frailty assessment units have contributed to redirection away from emergency departments and reduced admissions to hospitals. Capital funding is also in place to improve emergency departments where additional physical space is required to meet current demand.