Bed occupancy at Mildmay Hospital
Mildmay Hospital publishes its bed occupancy figures weekly, across all specialist care pathways.
We do this in the interest of transparency, and to make clear to NHS system partners and policymakers where specialist capacity exists and is available.
Current availability
Beds available across all pathways
1 April 2026
9
8 April 2026
9
15 April 2026
14
22 April 2026
13
29 April 2026
-
Mildmay has 28 beds in total, across three specialist care pathways.
Monthly averages
Includes beds under block-contract
Contracting of services is cyclical, leading to periods of strain for both Mildmay Hospital and the NHS.
Average available beds per month - all pathways
2026
January: 12.25 available beds ________________________ February: 9 available beds ________________________ March: 6.5 available beds ________________________ April: 11.25 available beds ________________________ May: 0 available beds ________________________ June: 0 available beds ________________________ July: 0 available beds ________________________ August: 0 available beds ________________________ September: 0 available beds ________________________ October: 0 available beds ________________________ November: 0 available beds ________________________ December: 0 available beds _________________________
2025
January 12.4 available beds ________________________ February 13.75 available beds ________________________ March 13.00 available beds ________________________ April 12.6 available beds ________________________ May 11.00 available beds ________________________ June 11.25 available beds ________________________ July 14.40 available beds ________________________ August 13.25 available beds ________________________ September 15.75 available beds ________________________ October 15.80 available beds ________________________ November 11.50 available beds ________________________ December 12.00 available beds ________________________
2024
January 13.00 available beds ________________________ February 11.25 available beds ________________________ March 11.75 available beds ________________________ April 15.25 available beds ________________________ May 15.00 available beds ________________________ June 11.25 available beds ________________________ July 6.6 available beds ________________________ August 3.5 available beds ________________________ September 2.5 available beds ________________________ October 3.2 available beds ________________________ November 10.5 available beds ________________________ December 12.5 available beds ________________________
Annual occupancy: available vs occupied beds
Comparison of the average number of available vs occupied beds per week for all pathways
2025
Click to enlarge
This chart shows the weekly average of available (unfilled) beds against occupied beds across all Mildmay pathways throughout 2025.
2024
Click to enlarge
This chart shows the weekly average of available (unfilled) beds against occupied beds across all Mildmay pathways throughout 2024.
Context: NHS bed capacity and delayed discharge
The NHS faces sustained pressure on inpatient bed capacity. Occupancy rates across acute hospitals have consistently exceeded 85%, the level at which patient safety and operational efficiency are generally considered to be at risk, since 2010.
The UK has 2.4 hospital beds per 1,000 people, compared to an OECD EU average of 5 and Germany's 7.8. This structural shortfall limits the system's ability to absorb demand fluctuations and contributes directly to delayed discharges.
Delayed discharge is a significant and persistent driver of bed pressure. When patients who are medically fit to leave remain in acute beds because step-down or community capacity is unavailable, the downstream effects include A&E delays, ambulance handover delays, and the postponement of elective procedures. The number of patients delayed in English acute hospitals rose 43% between June 2021 and September 2023.
Mildmay provides specialist step-down and rehabilitation care for patients who no longer require acute inpatient treatment but are not yet ready for discharge into community settings, including people with complex HIV-related conditions, people experiencing homelessness, and people in post-detoxification recovery. These are patients for whom mainstream step-down provision is often unsuitable.
When Mildmay beds are unfilled, this specialist capacity is lost to the NHS system.
Sources:
Funding and sustainability
Approximately 90% of Mildmay's income comes from NHS contracts. We are funded on a per-patient, per-bed basis: when beds are unfilled, the associated NHS funding is not drawn down.
By comparison, a standard NHS hospital bed costs £345 per day — but that figure excludes treatment and other clinical costs. A critical care bed costs a minimum of £1,881 per day (source: Written answer, Parliament, 14 March 2023).
As a small independent charitable hospital, sustained under-referral directly affects our ability to maintain specialist services. The remaining 10% of our income comes from charitable donations, which support service development but cannot substitute for clinical contract income.
Cost-effectiveness
Mildmay bed costs range from £400 to £511.35 per day, with an average of £455. These rates include all clinical treatment, therapies and social care within a single daily cost.
Mildmay's all-inclusive model means that the true cost of a comparable package of care in an NHS setting is substantially higher than the headline bed rate suggests. For those assessing value, the comparison is not bed cost against bed cost — it is total cost of care.
As a small independent charitable hospital operating on NHS contract income, sustained under-referral directly affects our ability to maintain these services. When specialist beds are consistently unfilled, the viability of the service is directly affected.
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