Massachusetts General Hospital gets clearance to add nearly 100 beds amid ‘capacity disaster’

Massachusetts General Hospital won regulatory approval Wednesday to add 94 licensed beds as part of efforts to address a capacity crunch that the facility’s leaders say has resulted in delayed care and strained operations.

The state Public Health Council unanimously approved a proposal by MGH and its parent system, Mass General Brigham, that will increase the total number of licensed beds in its main campus medical and surgical rooms from 900 to 994.

MGH officials said they have a significant need for more space to place patients amid a sharp uptick in demand.

In fiscal year 2019, about 85 percent of the main campus’s inpatient beds were occupied, which is roughly around the industry standard, according to data presented to regulators. By fiscal year 2023, that had increased to nearly 96 percent.

“We started the day, for example, with 62 patients in our emergency department who would spend the night waiting for a bed [and] another 20 in the post-anesthesia care unit waiting for a bed,” David Brown, president of Mass General Brigham’s Academic Medical Centers, told the council. “We are forced to refuse requests for transfer from hospitals across the region for care that is deemed can’t be delivered at those referring hospitals.”

Some providers and facilities have been sounding the alarm in recent months about a lack of available capacity, one of several pressure points that Beacon Hill must weigh as policymakers consider a wide range of healthcare reforms.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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