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Written question asked by Marquess of Lothian (Conservative) on Tuesday, 6 December 2016, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 20 December 2016. It was answered by Lord Prior of Brampton (Conservative) on Friday, 16 December 2016 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Hospital Beds

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual cost to the NHS of bed-blocking delays in discharging elderly patients from hospitals because of the lack of adequate social care provision; and what strategy they have to ensure that adequate social care is provided, particularly for the elderly.

Answer

The Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service. However, the Department and NHS Improvement are working together to implement Lord Carter’s recommendations on hospital productivity. The report, Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations is attached. As part of this, the two organisations are working with providers to develop a richer dataset around all aspects of the patient pathway, including discharge.

At the same time, the Department continues to work closely with the NHS and local government to help local areas improve transfers out of hospital, share best practice, and reduce unnecessary delays.

The Care Act 2014, placed duties on local authorities to facilitate and encourage an effective market of quality providers in their area. The Department has worked with local government and the provider sector to develop guidance to help local authorities with these market shaping duties, a copy of guidance, Adult social care market shaping is attached. The Department also supports the Local Government Association with a programme of sector-led improvement.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL3860
Session
2016-17
Attachment
Adult social care market shaping; Operational productivity
Subjects
Costs Hospital beds Older people Social services
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk