Almost a third of hospital discharge delays during September were due to social care issues, according to official statistics.
Data released by the Government showed 147,700 ‘delayed days’ during the course of the month, an increase of 9,400 compared with September 2014.
While the majority of hold ups were down to the NHS, 30.8% were attributable to social care, up from 25.8% last year. The main reason was ‘patients awaiting care package in their own home’, which accounted for 15,900 delayed days.
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, the Local Government Association’s spokesperson for community wellbeing, said: ‘We saw last year the huge impact that winter had on people’s lives when they were getting stuck in hospital instead of safely discharged into the community. No one’s elderly parent, grandparents or friends should be left unnecessarily in a hospital bed, when they could be treated in the comfort and dignity of their own home.
‘Health and social care leaders widely recognise that a properly funded social care system is essential to alleviate the pressures on the NHS. We need to see a change to the current funding system which, over the last five years, has seen an increase in funding for the NHS but a decrease in funding for social care. Without proper funding councils are going to be left struggling to keep people out of hospitals and in their own homes and communities.
‘We urgently need adequate funding for social care from the Government in the Spending Review to make sure that local areas can deal with winter pressures – or we risk leaving our most vulnerable to suffer unnecessarily in hospital in the coming months.’
Paul Smith, director of Foundations, the national body for 200 home improvement agencies in England, said: ‘The majority of home improvement agencies can facilitate quick, safe hospital discharge for patients who need minor modifications to their homes. This enables them to continue to live in their homes safely and independently and avoid readmission.
‘HIAs’ focus on preventative measures means they help prevent hospital admissions in the first place by making homes safer (to prevent falls) and warmer (to avoid cold-related illnesses worsening). Low-cost, low-level interventions that help service users make the necessary changes to their home environment reduce the burden on emergency and acute services, and take some of the pressure off stretched resources.’
