Norfolk and Norwich Hospital unable to discharge 180 patients

A senior hospital nurse said she could not discharge 180 patients due to a lack of "care and support" at home.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital said among the people that did not need to be in hospital was a patient who had been there for 145 days.

Claire Fare, senior discharge matron, said delays "impact on the whole of the flow" of patients.

Norfolk County Council's social care department blamed the "national care crisis" for the problems.

In June, the hospital, which has about 1,200 beds, pleaded for family and friends to help look after fit patients to ease demand.

Melanie Syson, the hospital's discharge coordinator, said there was a person in the hospital ready for discharge that had been there for more than four months.

"She is medically fit to be discharged but we are waiting for support to be ready at home," she said.

Ms Syson added: "The length of stay of the patients seems to be getting longer."

To help cope with the delays, the hospital opened a "home-first unit" in January for patients who did not need acute care but it was unable to discharge. The unit focuses on rehabilitation to try to prevent the patients coming back into hospital or requiring more care at home.

Stephanie Ward, the ward sister, said it aimed to "give patients the time they need to do things themselves as much as they can".

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Source: BBC News, 15 July 2022