The NHS bed-block crisis was announced today, with shocking data showing that some patients have to wait nine months to be discharged, yet declared fit enough to be medically separated.
About 13,000 hospital beds, one in seven, are filled with patients who are healthy enough to be discharged.
They are expected to be transferred to a nursing home or receive home care, but staffing shortages in the social care sector have plagued the wards for weeks.
The problem, causing fatal delays in ambulances, has worsened since the beginning of the year.
An investigation into the HSJ’s freedom of information by some of the worst-performing NHS trusts in the UK has revealed some of the most appalling waiting times.
A medically eligible patient at the North Bristol Trust waited more than nine months to be discharged, while another patient had to wait eight months.
The publication also found six-month wait periods at the North Cumbria Integrated Care Foundation Trust and Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation Trust.
This chart shows the average daily number of patients who are well enough to leave but are not discharged from NHS hospitals in England. It shows how the crisis has worsened since December, with more health beds than during the traditionally busy winter months.
The Royal United Bath Foundation Trust has reported a case of a patient waiting five months to be discharged.
Waiting times of more than three months were recorded. Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust, Mid Cheshire Hospitals Foundation Trust and Stockport Foundation Trust.
The foundations said most of the delays were due to a lack of staff to care for patients at home.
Another factor mentioned was the need to wait for special equipment to be installed in patients’ homes, such as machines that help people breathe.
Wes Streeting, the shadow work secretary for health and social work, said it was unacceptable to leave the patient with no choice but to stay in the hospital for another 9 months.
“It’s absolutely horrendous that patients who can get out of hospital are then kept in hospital beds for up to nine months,” he said.
“A shocking loss of the better part of a year of a person’s life.
“This is the cost of conservative failures in welfare over the past 12 years.”
The number of patients well enough to be discharged but hospitalized has increased significantly since the beginning of the year.
MailOnline’s analysis of NHS England statistics shows an average of 12,900 “bed blockers” in July.
That’s around 2,500 more than in December last year, which is traditionally considered part of the busiest winter season in the NHS.
Patients who cannot live independently face long waiting times for hospital stays, care assessments, home care or nursing homes.
They often need help with basic daily activities such as washing, cooking and dressing.
Lack of social care skills is the driving force behind the problem.
Charities have repeatedly warned of the growing crisis in the welfare workforce, with many supermarkets now offering higher hourly wages.
According to the Skills for Care charity, there are currently 165,000 vacancies in adult welfare in the UK, which means that around one in ten vacancies are unfilled.
With the looming cost of living for aid workers for many Brits, the temptation to seek a higher salary can be overwhelming.
Congested beds are also adding to the country’s emergency room crisis, as ambulances are in some cases unable to unload patients and have to wait in hospital parking lots due to a lack of beds.
Category two calls, including emergencies such as heart attacks and strokes, now have an average response time of 59 minutes, compared to the 18-minute target.
The latest NHS England data for July shows that more than 29,000 patients waited 12 hours for emergency care last month (yellow lines), four times longer than the NHS target, and a third in June, the previous record. Meanwhile, the percentage of patients seen within four hours – 95% of people need to be seen – dropped to 71% (red line) last month, the lowest rate since registration began in 2010.
In England, deaths are claimed every week in the NHS emergency room, according to an analysis that reveals the devastating impact of the summer crisis. The graph shows the number of additional deaths due to long waiting times in the emergency room.
The latest figures show that 29,000 patients waited 12 hours in the emergency room, four times the NHS target in July. The figure was one-third higher than the previous record-setting June data.
An overnight stay in an NHS bed would cost taxpayers around £400, while the problem of 13,000 beds could cost the country around £5m a day.
The ongoing crisis comes despite the government’s many promises to address social concerns.
Another £36bn in cash, controversial tax no. 10, the second went to only 6 billion TL.
Tories frontman Liz Truss pledged last week to abolish the tax and increase welfare funds through general taxes.
His comment caused alarm in the healthcare industry, with leaders urging him not to “rob Peter to pay Paul” and to rob the NHS’s finances.
North Bristol’s responsible health council said £17m has been invested in speeding up discharge.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Welfare said £5.4bn will be invested in social care for adults over the next three years.
They added that the government continues to support a £500m workforce development fund to improve social care education and retention.
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
