Poor NHS performance is a symptom of under-funded social care - Independent Age
Commenting on the latest NHS performance statistics, Janet Morrison, chief executive of Independent Age, said:
“Every month it seems the NHS breaks new records for poor performance – this time the most patients since recording began were subject to ‘delayed transfers of care’. It is completely unacceptable that nearly 6,000 otherwise healthy patients – the majority of whom will be elderly – were recorded as stuck in a hospital bed in one single evening.
“It’s abundantly clear that chronic under investment in social care is a main driver. In just five years, the number of bed days lost because patients were waiting for care and support in their own home has nearly tripled. At nearly 32,000 bed days lost in one month, this is the now the single biggest cause of delays. Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England said this week that the problem of delayed discharges could continue for up to five years. Unless urgent action is taken, that prediction may be conservative.”
