Sustained rise in long-stay patients stuck in hospital, leaked figures reveal

According to leaked figures, the number of patients ready to be medically discharged has been rising since the spring and is now higher than the winter, but levels are believed to still be substantially lower than pre-covid. These figures come after reports hospitals are facing increased pressure to free up beds for incoming patients. 

David Oliver, consultant geriatrician and former national clinical director for older people, has said "Thanks to additional funding and capacity in community health and social care services, fantastic collaborative working across systems and new rules and permissions, and innovative service models, we saw far fewer delays and far slicker discharge for patients needing ongoing support outside hospital. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t sustainable. Both in my local experience and speaking to colleagues from around the country, we are now back to pre-pandemic levels of delays and worse. This is bad for patients, leaving them stranded in hospital when they’d be better off in their own home and other settings and bad for other patients needing hospital care, including those on waiting lists, as flow through acute beds is impaired."

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Source: HSJ, 11 August 2021