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bed-blocking has risen to highest level in 5 years

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Eloethan Thu 17-Dec-15 17:48:09

The Independent reported on 10 December that so-called bed-blocking in the NHS has risen to its highest level in 5 years and the Nuffield Trust CEO believes this is at least in part due to the £1.7 billion which has been cut from local councils' social care budgets.

What is the point of reducing social care budgets when the consequence is that there are fewer and fewer beds available for hospital admissions because frail, often elderly, people are unable to be discharged home because of a lack of home care support for them? It is, in my view, cruel and unethical to make these sorts of cuts and will pile more and more pressure on hospitals and ultimately bring the NHS to its knees. But perhaps that is the aim.

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loopylou Thu 17-Dec-15 18:37:00

Here I'm finding patients are being told there's a three week wait for a care package so do they want to stay in hospital or go home and wait? Of course they say go home, without care, then the voluntary sector is expected to produce miracles and conjour up volunteers to help. Of course they don't do nursing or personal care so the poor patients are effectively having to manage the best they can.
It stinks.

Readmisssions are escalating and the pattern is repeated.
The local home care providers are not only lacking any capacity but the care provided is somewhat dubious in one agency and being monitored by CQC.

It's incredibly depressing and worries me sick as the service I work for struggles to support the most vulnerable in our society.

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