Delayed transfers of care, or bed blocking, occur when a patient is clinically ready to leave but stays because there is no care at home or in the community
Bed blocked: Patients have nowhere to go
Record numbers have to stay in hospital because cuts mean patients have nowhere to go.
More than 4,000 a day are blocking beds – a six-year high.
Healthwatch chief Anna Bradley said: “This is further evidence of a system that is under growing pressure and struggling to cope.”
And British Medical Association chief Dr Mark Porter added: “A shortage of social care beds creates ‘exit block’ in hospitals, meaning patients can’t be discharged.
“This, coupled with a shortage of hospital beds, leads to patients waiting hours on trolleys.”
Delayed transfers of care, or bed blocking, occur when a patient is clinically ready to leave but stays because there is no care at home or in the community.
Bed blocking
The average number of beds blocked hit 4,155 last week, up from 2,852 last year.
Ms Bradley said: “Ensuring all patients are discharged safely and in a timely manner all year round would free up more bed days, save money and, most importantly, get people home sooner – which is where we all want to be.”
But the NHS England figures showed a slight improvement in A&E waiting – 92.4% of patients were seen within four hours last week, the best since November. The target is 95%.
The overall number of A&E attendances was down by more than 12,000 in the last week, which suggests more people are heeding warnings to only visit hospitals in emergencies.
But Dame Barbara Hakin, of NHS England, said that while demands had “eased” the NHS was still facing “huge pressures on its frontline services”.
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