Providers Say “Enough Is Enough On Hospital Discharges”
Care providers say “enough is enough” and the Government must reform social care to end the scandal of older, vulnerable and disabled adults being trapped in hospital when they are well enough to be discharged.
They are calling on ministers to reform social care so that people can get the help they need when and where they need it.
The care provider organisation, The Independent Care Group (ICG) said the need for reform to help tackle such delayed discharges was well overdue.
Their warning came after a survey of providers revealed that people well enough to be discharged could be stuck in hospital for as long as two to three weeks.
ICG Chair Mike Padgham said:
“We are enormously disappointed to see this situation is not improving. This is the latest in a long line of reports that paint a bleak and unacceptable picture for people who need care
“Enough is enough, the system is in need of reform so that people can get the care they need, when and where they need it. In our region we are working with health bodies and care commissioners to come up with some solutions.
“We need to streamline the system. At the moment we have an unnecessarily complex system which delays people from getting where they want to be.
“We need a system that allows hospitals to discharge people directly to care providers to get people moving more quickly.
“We also know that there are times when people are well enough to be discharged from hospital but there aren’t care packages available to support them, either at home or in a care or nursing home.
“There is a very clear case for some funding to be reallocated from the NHS to social care so that we increase the availability of care so that it is there when and where people need it, rather than the postcode lottery we currently have.
“There is a dreadful social and health impact of people being in hospital when they don’t need to be as well as a huge financial impact of people being in costly hospital beds when they should be cared for elsewhere. “For a government which is intent on making every penny count, spending millions on people being unnecessarily in a hospital bed looks like a very obvious place where urgent action is needed.”
A survey by later-life care directory, Autumna, found that 17% of care providers say the average length of time for discharge into their care after a patient has been declared fit to leave hospital is one to two weeks, while 7.3% say the average length of time is three or more weeks.
In Yorkshire and the Humber, 10% of respondents said it took over three weeks on average for a patient to be discharged into their care.
“The system is in need of reform so that people can get the care they need, when and where they want it,” Mr Padgham added. “Nobody wants to be in a hospital bed longer than they absolutely have to be and the delays reported by care providers illustrate that currently they are remaining there for an unacceptable time, even when they are well enough to be discharged. This is a scandal and it can’t go on.”
