8,000 NHS patients stuck in beds died in a year claim
BED blocking on hospital wards has been linked to 8,000 deaths a year.
Researchers found a 40,000 spike in deaths in England and Wales between July 2014 and June 2015 – the biggest rise in 50 years.
They found a fifth of those deaths could be linked to bed blocking – where healthy patients cannot be discharged because there is no back-up care arranged. Study leader Dr Mark Green, of Liverpool University, blamed austerity cuts and said bed blocking was a deadly risk. He said: “Increased funding to the NHS and adult social care to minimise issues with discharged patients would benefit the population.” Lib Dem Health spokesman Norman Lamb said: “It is a stain on our country that lives are being lost because of the severe under funding.”