COVID-M3.6 Response No Published Response Self-assessed

Scale Up Hospital Capacity

Recommendation

The UK government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive should work with trusts and health boards to ensure that pandemic plans include practical steps to rapidly scale up hospital capacity to treat acutely unwell patients. This should include critical care services that can deliver multiple levels and types of organ support. It should also cover necessary equipment, supplies, space and staff, including redeployment and training. All trusts and health boards must keep an easily accessible, up-to-date record of the information needed to implement these plans in the hospital sites they operate. This should include technical aspects of critical care expansion such as power, ventilation, oxygen and waste management systems. Plans for expanding capacity should be published, subject to review every three years and tested as part of the pandemic response exercises recommended in the Inquiry's Module 1 Report (Recommendation 6).

Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
No Published Response
No Published Response Scottish Government Initial Response
19 Mar 2026

No formal response published by this government.

No Published Response Welsh Government Follow-up
19 Mar 2026

No formal response published by this government.

No Published Response Northern Ireland Executive Follow-up
19 Mar 2026

No formal response published by this government.

Progress Timeline
Official Report
19 Mar 2026

Status: Pending. No government response yet received. Module 3 report published 19 March 2026.

Source
Report Module 3: Impact on Healthcare Systems 19 Mar 2026
Responsible Bodies
Department of Health and Social Care Primary
Last formal update 19 Mar 2026