Study shows extent of hospital 'bed blocking' across North Yorkshire
The statistics come from the Shared Data Unit
A study has revealed how much bed blocking is taking place in hospitals across North Yorkshire.
The Shared Data Unit says more than 13,000 people are unable to leave hospitals in England each day - despite being classed as fit to leave.
It said: "We found that, at some trusts, only one in every ten adult patients eligible to leave can actually do so at the end of each day, with the North West home to the largest proportion of delays.
"Almost half of those were because patients were waiting for care packages to begin in a facility or at home, but many were also waiting for community hospital beds.
"While levels of delays have remained stable over the course of the last year nationally, the winter peak seen in 2022 was almost double what it was a decade ago.
"The government has released £600m in 2023-24, which aims to help councils recruit and retain more care workers, but health leaders say the plans fall short of the reform required."
Patricia Marquis, Royal College of Nursing director, said: "At the heart of this is persistent understaffing across all care settings. We would like to see a long-term plan for social care that matches the ambitions of the recent NHS Long-term Workforce Plan. Put simply, we need more nursing staff in the community and social care sector.”
York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
In York And Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust between July 1 2022 and June 30 2023 on an average night 66.4% patients who had been identified as ready to be discharged that day were still occupying a bed at midnight.
This is 8.6 percentage points higher than the average figure for trusts across England (57.8%).
On the worst day 93.6% of patients classed as “no longer meeting the criteria” to be in hospital were still occupying beds at midnight.
The day when the most patients were left in hospital was Friday September 2 2022 when 229 who could have been discharged were still in the hospital at the end of the day.
A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation trust, said:
“The NHS is facing a sustained high level of pressure across every sector and our trust is no different, with several factors contributing to this and compromising our ability to manage the flow of patients through our hospitals. The wider pressures in the system, in particular, social care is also having a significant impact on our hospitals. Partner organisations are facing the same workforce and demand issues as us and we have many patients who are medically fit for discharge but are delayed in hospital.
“Clearly, we would like to see fewer patients delayed in hospital beds, whatever the reason, and we are working hard with our commissioners, local authorities, and other providers to work towards ensuring that only those patients who need acute care are in hospital. We need to make sure that patients who are fit to leave the hospital are discharged safely and can recover in the right place with the right support.”
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
In Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust between July 1 2022 and June 30 2023 on an average night 56.3% patients who had been identified as ready to be discharged that day were still occupying a bed at midnight.
This is 1.5 percentage points lower than the average figure for trusts across England (57.8%).
On 2 days 100% of patients classed as “no longer meeting the criteria” to be in hospital were still occupying beds at midnight. This means that on 1% of days for which data was provided, not a single patient was discharged.
The day when the most patients were left in hospital was Thursday July 28 2022 when 98 who could have been discharged were still in the hospital at the end of the day.
In a statement the trust said: “Patients who remain in our hospital beyond their medically optimised date can do so for many complex reasons. Some of these reasons are linked to delays with social care, for instance, not having a suitable location where they can continue their recovery, such as a residential care home, or appropriate home care to support them in their own homes. But it can also relate to other aspects, such as patients who are waiting to transfer for treatment in a specialist unit operated by another organisation.
“The health and wellbeing of our patients is our primary concern. We know how being in a more familiar location can aid recovery and we will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure patients who no longer require our care can be discharged as soon as possible so they can continue their recovery or further treatment in the most suitable location for them.”
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) response
A spokesman said: “It is vital people receive the right care in the right place, and we are working to ensure patients are discharged safely from hospital, as soon as they are medically fit to do so. A record £1.6 billion investment is supporting this, on top of the £700 million to ease hospital pressures over last winter and the £42.6 million fund to support innovation in adult social care.
“To further bolster the workforce, we are continuing our Made With Care recruitment campaign – designed to reach millions of people – and the average pay for care workers has also increased. Staff retention is equally as important, which is why we are also investing almost £2 billion over two years to help councils support the workforce.”