NHS virtual ward beds, total and occupied, July 2023 to September 2025

A line chart from the Institute for Government showing NHS virtual ward beds, total and occupied, July 2023 to September 2025. Total virtual ward bed capacity increased from around 9,700 to 12,500 beds, while occupancy rose from 6,200 to around 8,500, peaking at over 10,000 in early 2025.

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Source: Institute for Government analysis of NHS England, 'Virtual ward - national time series', September 2025.Notes: Figures relate to England. There was no publicly available data before July 2023.Get the dataEmbed Download image