The number of beds in Scottish hospitals, as elsewhere in the UK, is gradually declining. This is largely attributable to changing medical practice, which has developed techniques that allow faster recovery and has led to shorter lengths of stay being required for clinical care of patients. The growth in day case surgery, where patients occupy a hospital bed for one day or less, and improvements in treating patients in a primary care setting contribute to these trends.

Choose the Bed Statistics link for trends in bed numbers, occupancy rates, length of stay and throughput by specialty, at Scotland level and by NHS Board of treatment.