Newsroom

Delayed Tranfers of Care

We’ve all heard that the NHS is under pressure and agencies must work together to help alleviate the various challenges it is facing. One issue that social care and health partners have been addressing jointly is delayed transfers of care, sometimes referred to as bed blocking. This happens when a person is declared medically fit and safe for discharge from hospital, but is unable to leave - for any reason - and therefore remains in a hospital bed.

Having to wait for a care package when they’re ready to be discharged from hospital has a huge detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of older people. We don’t tolerate older people waiting for care and we work hard to make sure we continue to support their health.

Nottinghamshire was ranked the top performing council nationally, for achieving zero social care delays for November and December last year. We analysed our data, found out where the bottlenecks were and then – working with partners - focused resources where they are most needed.

We’ve been working hard to reduce and maintain the low level of delays and ensure that a suitable social care package is in place for people when they are ready to be discharged.

• START Re-ablement is our short term assessment and re-ablement service, provided in a person’s own home to help them regain their independence following a spell in hospital.

• The Home First Response Service is a short term rapid response which helps people if they need urgent social care support to remain at home in a crisis - if a carer is unable to look after them due to illness, for example.

• Short term assessment beds can be used after hospital stay so that social care staff can assess a person’s social care needs in a care home or an extra-care flat.

We monitor the number of people aged 65 and over who are still at home 91 days after discharge from hospital into a re-ablement service. The latest figure is encouraging, with 80 per cent of older people still living safely at home 91 days after being discharged.

That can only be a good thing for the people we support – and our partners.

 

Councillor Stuart Wallace
Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council's Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee

 

Councillor Stuart Wallace Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council's Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee