22.08.18
Reduction in bed-blocking rates saves NHS £60m
Improvements made in returning hospital patients to adult social care has saved the NHS £60m, leaders in the sector have said.
New data from NHS England highlights that there were 43,600 fewer delayed days from hospital wards to the community from June 2017 to June 2018, with both the NHS and social care sectors having seen reductions in the volume of delayed transfers of care in the last year.
The proportion of delays attributable to social care saw one of the biggest falls, with delays decreasing by almost 30%.
Julie Ogley, vice president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said: “Despite significant pressures, our dedicated social care workforce has once again made an incredible impact, keeping delays to transfers of care lower than at this point last year.
“However, the pressures facing our care and health services, compounded by a lack of certainty around the long-term funding for social care, are increasing, and there is only so much that dedication can do.”
The issue of bed-blocking has been an ongoing crisis for the NHS for a number of years: last year a study by Age UK found that almost four million bed days had been lost since 2011 due to issues putting patients into community care after receiving hospital treatment.
Now, following the fall in bed-blocking delays are giving industry experts new hope to battle surging demand for acute services during the winter months.
“None of us want to need social care, in the same way that none of us wants to be sick, but all of us at some point will have a loved one who will depend on it or we may even need it ourselves,” Ogley added.
“By kicking the social care green paper into the autumn, the government has further delayed providing not just funding, but much-needed answers on how we are going to plan to look after us when we are older or disabled. In the meantime, it’s essential that urgent and interim funding is made available to help ease the pressures on the system and help us help the people in our care live the lives they want to live.”
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