CALLS have been made for an investigation into hospital bed numbers following the deaths of two patients.

Coroners have highlighted the cases of Mary Muldowney from Crawley and Teresa Dennett from Sheffield, who both could have survived had they been treated sooner.

The Royal College of Surgeons has now urged NHS England to carry out a review of the number of beds available.

It said the patients had experienced delays and doctors had been left trying to “broker a deal” between hospitals to get them admitted.

The two women’s deaths were revealed by the Health Service Journal (HSJ)

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has been warned by both coroners that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.

The Royal College says some sustainability and transformation plans, which set out the future of health and social care services around the country, were considering recommending cutting beds further and warned this could lead to patient safety risks.

College council member and consultant neurosurgeon Richard Kerr said: “We strongly encourage NHS England to review bed capacity in the NHS and not just critical care beds.

“While sustainability and transformation plans are a welcome initiative, a number are proposing to cut bed numbers further. Without realistic or fundable plans to create more capacity in the community this could, at best, result in a further significant rise in waiting times if not further risks to patients’ safety.”

Mr Kerr said the college was “saddened” by the deaths of the two women.

He said “There are important lessons that must be urgently learnt and we urge those trusts involved to set out clearly how they will prevent further deaths from lack of critical care bed capacity.”

NHS England told the HSJ the issue was not about intensive care beds, even though both coroners’ reports say this was a critical factor.

A spokesman said: “One of the coroner’s reports makes clear there were in fact eight ICU beds available at the time in Sheffield where the patient could appropriately have been treated but the decision not to do so was made by a senior consultant neurosurgeon there.”

Referring to Ms Muldowney, the spokesman said: “The formal response by St George’s Hospital to the other coroner’s report also makes clear that their hospital’s decision not to accept the patient was in fact taken on clinical grounds by the St George’s neurological team.”

Mrs Muldowney had originally arrived at East Surrey Hospital in Redhill where she was suffering a bleed on the brain.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton was among those which refused to take Mrs Muldowney because no intensive beds were available.

St George’s and King’s College Hospital in London also did not take her in.

In the end a doctor at East Surrey ran a consultant at the Royal College Hospital who accepted an immediate transfer

NHS England’s chief medical director Sir Bruce Keogh said neurosurgery patients should not be refused on the grounds of critical care capacity.