NHS England have today published the delayed discharge figures for June, which continues to show that social care accounts for a third of all delayed discharge. You can read more about the June figures here.
Vicky McDermott, Chair of the Care and Support Alliance, said:
“The Government cannot continue to ignore the crisis that means that patients are stuck in hospital, when they could be at home.
“The funding crisis in social care is heaping needless pressure onto the NHS. A third of bed days lost to delayed discharge are due to social care and the biggest reason for social care delays is ‘patients awaiting a care package in their home’. A million hospital days were lost in 2015, costing the NHS £2.4 billion (1) and it’s estimated that money wasted by the NHS on excess bed days due to people awaiting homecare could fund 5.2million hours of homecare (2)
“NHS chief Simon Stevens has warned that delayed discharge could be a serious issue for the next five years ‘because there are real pressures building in social care’.
“We know that it is not just those that are kept in hospital unnecessarily who are being failed by our health and social care system; at least 1 million people (3) are also not getting help with their basic needs.
“There will be an estimated shortfall of almost £1 billion this year alone (4). The Government needs to urgently fill the gap in social care funding.”
Note to Editors
2) UKHCA Briefing Delayed Discharge and Home Care Nov 2015 http://www.ukhca.co.uk/(S(conocuzeeaul52vux5rybtqb))/pdfs/DelayedDischargesandHomecareVersion1.1(2).pdf
3) Age UK, Health and Care of Older People in England 2015, October 2015
4) ADASS budget survey 2016 https://www.adass.org.uk/adass-budget-survey-2016-full-report
The Care and Support Alliance represents more than 80 of Britain’s leading charities campaigning alongside the millions of older people, disabled people and their carers who deserve decent care
For press enquiries contact Muna Suleiman on 020 7923 5723/ muna.suleiman@nas.org.uk
