Finding hospital beds

Our Emergency Bed Service helps NHS healthcare workers to find a bed, or arrange a transfer, for seriously-ill patients.

The unit arranges for around 10,000 patients to be admitted to hospital or transferred between hospitals every year.

Our Emergency Bed Service:

  • helps GPs in London to make arrangements for patients to be admitted to hospital;
  • collects information on the availability of intensive care beds for adults and children;
  • directs hospitals to the nearest intensive care bed for their patient;
  • helps hospitals to find beds for children if their children’s ward is full; and  
  • coordinates the service that transfers poorly new-born babies between hospitals in London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.