asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the total number of bed losses in NHS hospitals in London for each of the past five years; and, of these, how many were acute beds.

[pursuant to her reply, 20 July 1987, c. 71]: The information requested is given in the table. Reductions in bed numbers do not necessarily mean loss in services. Better use of beds, changing clinical practices and the ability to treat more cases as day cases without patients having to stay in hospital overnight mean that many more cases are being treated in the facilities available. Over the four-year period the number of inpatient cases treated per available bed rose from 17·9 in 1982 to 21 in 1986 and in-patient cases treated per available bed in the acute sector rose from 30·5 to 36. The numbers of cases treated in all specialtie—sin-patient and day cases—increased by 8·7 per cent. to 1,290,244 cases, and in all acute specialties increased by 4·3 per cent. to 1,037,936 cases.