Cash needed now to stop bed-blocking

ONE of the biggest problems that hospitals up and down the country face as we move deeper into winter is that of bed blocking. Partly as a result of lengthening life span, coupled with more broken marriages than ever before, hospitals have for some time been battling with the difficulties of what to do with patients that need to be discharged but cannot care for themselves.

Care home charges are prohibitive for many due to the ever-increasing costs incurred as a result of rising minimum wage levels and more expensive power to keep residents warm and comfortable.

However, after much pressure from hospital trusts, Government is making an extra £240 million available for councils to pay for social care packages. Hopefully, this vital cash boost will enable patients to return to their homes where they will be able to have outside support on a daily basis.

As an octogenarian, I wish, if it is humanly possible, to end my days in my own home surrounded by my toys and interests. The thought of going into a residential home fills me with horror. Therefore, I very much welcome this initiative by Government that will most certainly assist hospitals by freeing up beds that can be blocked for months.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has indicated the West Midlands will receive some £26 million.

As a hospital governor, I am very well aware of the enormous difficulties created by bed-blocking, so eagerly look for the actual cash being handed down, despite a substantial time-lag between announcement and action.

As the years roll on, the problem of caring for the elderly will mount. By way of illustration, the Isles of Scilly, with a population of about 2,300 has 25 per cent who are 65 years of age or older. This is an enormous burden on the local authority. However, this will happen in the West Midlands in about 40 years’ time or before, depending on population increase.

So councils must start to plan immediately – for short of a plague, this problem will not go away. Russell Luckock is chairman of Birmingham pressings firm AE Harris