Chamber and committees

Table 1 provides the average available number of staffed beds that were recorded for paediatric/child and adolescent specialties in Scotland for each year from 2001-02 to 2022-23. Information on bed numbers prior to 2001-02 is not available. A figure showing the amount of these beds that were recorded for psychiatric child specialties is also provided.

Due to the way specialties are recorded for beds data, it is not possible to use the Public Health Scotland beds statistics to estimate the total number of beds that are available for use by different services and/or departments. For example, selecting the Paediatric specialty grouping will only provide a partial picture of the staffed beds that are used for children’s services. This is because many beds used for children are not recorded under paediatric specialties and are instead recorded under more specific specialties, such as Haematology, Neurology and Respiratory Medicine.

Furthermore, the specialty recorded for a bed depends partly on what the patient is being treated for: therefore, for some wards, the mix of specialties may change over time.

Due to the volume of data included, a table including a full breakdown by NHS Board has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 64979).

Table 1: Average available staffed beds in paediatric/child & adolescent specialties, NHSScotland, 2001-02 – 2022-23