04.01.11
Blame game over bed-blocking
Is there really a bed-blocking crisis, and is it about to get worse?
It is clearly a problem, and it has become something of a talking point that council cuts to social care will mean more elderly people ‘trapped’ in hospital with nowhere else suitable to go.
The NHS Confederation calls it a ‘false economy’ to have the NHS care for people whose needs are not primarily medical. Bupa, meanwhile blames 17 years of under-funding for care homes.
But the Department of Health says demand for care home places is shrinking as more people opt for independent living and extra-care solutions.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services says NHS clinicians are to quick to blame the care sector for bed-blocking, saying they ignore the facts on the ground; that so many hospitals have been cutting their numbers of beds, increased GP referrals, ward transfer delays and weekend closures of hospital pharmacies, among other factors. It says in the last quarter of 2010, only 24% of delayed transfers out of hospitals were because of the social care sector, and that 69% were due to problems or inefficiencies from within the health service.
Whatever the cause of the problem, it does exist, and it will certainly not improve without more money for both social care and health services – which is unlikely to materialise.
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