Warning that trusts cannot cope with patient demand comes as NHS England chief finally admits decades of bed cuts is no longer sustainable
Four out of five NHS hospitals are relying on emergency surgical beds to provide enough space for routine patients as they try to keep up with soaring demand, new research has found.
Surgical beds are typically held in reserve so patients starting surgery have somewhere to recuperate, but Freedom of Information requests by the British Medical Association (BMA) show they’re routinely needed for everyday use.