The government accepts this recommendation. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the NHS has been under significant pressure. There were 390,000 general and acute beds available in 1987, but there are now around 141,000. The NHS has been running at close to full capacity for many years, and this has made it difficult to cope with the surge in demand caused by the pandemic. In recognition of this, the government has taken a number of steps to increase the capacity of the NHS, including: ● Increasing the number of beds available in hospitals. ● Increasing the number of staff working in the NHS. ● Improving the efficiency of NHS services. The government is committed to ensuring that the NHS has the resources it needs to cope with future surges in demand. This includes investing in additional capacity, as well as improving the way that the NHS is organised and managed.