Tackling Bed Poverty in Wales

Swansea Bay University Health Board

Welsh Government’s Child Poverty Strategy estimates that over 200,000, or 1 in 3, children in Wales live in poverty. This is supported by research from the children's charity Buttle which evidences how almost 30% of families on low incomes struggled to afford beds for their children in 2020. The report describes how families and children are sleeping on old mattresses or cushions on the floor because parents can't afford a frame. Lack of sleep, due to not having a bed, leads to poor concentration levels and lower educational attainment.

Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) was decommissioning the Bay Field Hospital and had a large number of beds (600) that were unsuitable for the acute sector. However, they were sturdy enough for use in domestic settings, and would be ideal to donate to families and those people in greatest need within the community. A paper was prepared, supported by SBUHB Director of Finance and Head of Procurement, and approvals were sought from the Health Board and Welsh Government.

A small working group was established, which included Neath Port Talbot and Swansea Councils, and Neath Port Talbot and Swansea Community Voluntary Services. The teams and the organisations that they support were best placed to identify those families in greatest need of beds.

In addition to distributing beds, an intranet campaign was launched encouraging SBUHB staff to donate new and used bedding which could accompany the beds. Local supermarkets and companies were also very supportive and donated lots of new bedding. Local removal firm Britannia Robbins heard about the project and kindly offered their services to deliver the beds free of charge.

Following the number of bed requests that were received, Welsh Government has approved that this initiative be rolled out on an All-Wales basis, and that all surplus beds from the field hospitals should be utilised in this way.

Amanda Davies

amanda.davies12@wales.nhs.uk