Hospital bosses must raid their NHS budgets to pay for care home places so patients don’t end up in ‘lobster trap’ wards, Labor will demand today.
Wes Streeting, the party’s health spokesman, will praise the “groundbreaking” Trust leaders who voluntarily chose to fund social care to ease the “stagnation” in their hospitals.
And he will tell leaders gathered at the NHS Providers Conference in Liverpool that more people need to do the same, as he blasts the Government for not spending a penny of its promised £500m deferred discharge.
The call comes after the country’s top emergency doctor warned that hospitals are so overcrowded that they are putting elderly patients at risk.
DR Adrian Boyle compared them to lobster traps after NHS figures showed more than 13,500 people were stuck in hospitals every day because of a lack of welfare packages available.
Healthy patients sometimes spend up to 9 months in hospital.
The bed blockers hamper the ambulance’s ability to discharge patients and respond quickly to 999 calls, slowing the speed at which hospitals can deal with record waiting lists.
Mr Streeting is expected to say: “The warning that hospitals are becoming ‘lobster traps’ must be answered.
Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting (left) has warned his government counterpart Steve Barclay (right) “to pull his finger” after a group of leading charities warned the NHS and social services were in the “most dangerous position in living memory” . has.
“Thousands of patients are stuck in hospital when they don’t need to be there. It is miserable for them, reduces capacity in the NHS and is more expensive for the taxpayer.
Not a penny of the money earmarked for capacity building in social services this winter has left Whitehall.
“Every day of delay means less time for health and care services to prepare.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay needs to pull his finger, get the money out the door before it’s too late and make sure patients are no longer stuck in hospital.
In addition to short-term measures, we need long-term reforms. A shift in the focus of health care from the hospital to the community.
The best NHS leaders don’t wait for the government to act.
Ground-breaking trust leaders are voluntarily giving up money to invest in local social care beds.
“It offers better value for money and means better patient care. This is my challenge to you and my test for the new Integrale Care Systems.”
Integrated health systems, launched earlier this year, should enable health and social care leaders to work more closely together to deliver unified services.
But a group of leading charities are also warning today that the NHS and social care is in the “most perilous position in living memory”.
The fallout from the pandemic has “turned cracks in the system into gaping chasms,” allowing millions of needy people to fall through the system, they say.
The top 12 healthcare charities – known as the Richmond Group – said the healthcare sector was facing “disaster speed” as demand was overwhelmed.
It warned that 14 million people – one in four of the population – have long-term health problems made worse by delays in treatment.
Charities – including Age UK, the British Red Cross and Macmillan Cancer Support – have written to the Prime Minister to demand more money for the sick sectors.
They warned that the cost-of-living crisis has left some unable to heat their homes, pay for prescriptions or health care costs, use their medical equipment, keep their medicine in the refrigerator or maintain their diet, much less meet medical emergencies. do.
Instead of pursuing reforms to meet the increasing demand of older people, they are instead fighting to return to pre-Covid levels.
“As charities working with over 14 million people in England living with long-term health conditions, we believe that the NHS and social care system is now in the most dangerous situation in living memory. More funding is critical,” they wrote.
Duleep Allirajah, chief executive of the Richmond Group of Charities, said the pandemic and cost of living crisis was a “catastrophic double whammy” for people with chronic health conditions.
“The resulting additional demands on the NHS and social care were not predicted or accounted for in the most recent public spending review and the resulting gap in resources is causing lasting suffering and pain for those affected and damaging our economy,” he said .
“The Prime Minister and Chancellor ignore this reality at their peril because it is at the heart of the crisis affecting the NHS and social care.”
Meanwhile, more than nine in ten (94 per cent) directors of adult social services in England believe they do not have the resources or staff to meet the needs of older and disabled people in their area.
The poll by the Association of Directors of Social Services for Adults shows that 90 per cent of directors support increased funding to enable them to hire carers at the same pay as comparable posts in the NHS.
And 93 per cent want an immediate further cash injection on top of the £500m ‘relief fund’ announced but not yet paid out.
Cathie Williams, chief executive of ADASS, which received survey responses from 116 of the country’s 152 managers, said: “This is the gloomiest autumn poll we’ve had.
“Only a handful of directors dare to get through the winter with their means and the helpers on site.
“In the summer we were afraid; we are scared now It affects us all.
“The £500m bailout won’t fix it when it’s finally handed out – and it’s badly needed.
“We urgently need another big emergency cash injection to be able to offer more help to people at home.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
