Western Morning News (Saturday)
Bed-block crisis needs ‘joined up’ response to solve
THE chief executive of Healthwatch Cornwall says there needs to be a co-ordinated response to the current crisis in health and social care in the county.
Mario Dunn said that more and more people are contacting the organisation to report problems with accessing healthcare.
There have been multiple reports and regular pictures of queues of ambulances at Cornwall’s main Royal Cornwall Hospital amid problems with discharging people after treatment which has caused blockages with getting people into hospital.
Hundreds of people who are medically fit to return home have been unable to be discharged as there has been a lack of care packages available to ensure they can go home safely.
Healthwatch Cornwall is a health and social care champion giving people the chance to give their feedback on health and social care provision in Cornwall and passing those comments on to the NHS and Cornwall Council. As an independent organisation it has powers to make sure the NHS takes on board any feedback and carries out improvements when required.
Mr Dunn said: “The responses we are getting are the same as the NHS and Cornwall Council are getting. People are struggling to get into hospital when they call an ambulance.
“The delays in ambulance response times are getting longer and longer and once an ambulance arrives at the emergency department at Royal Cornwall Hospital delays in handover can be very long, several hours.
“The principal reason for this is the NHS has people in hospital beds in Cornwall who shouldn’t be in them. They need to be discharged but they don’t have a care package for them once they leave due to a shortage of care home staff and beds and services which mean they have to remain in hospital.”
Mr Dunn said there was no single “magic bullet” solution. “It is not just about money, it is about recruiting, attracting and retaining people in social care in Cornwall. But it goes beyond that, if you are going to encourage someone to work in Cornwall they need somewhere to live and that is a big problem in every sector right now.”
He said increased rates of pay for care staff was one answer but “whether or not that is possible is a question for the council which is running a large financial deficit.”
He added: “What is important is that people use the NHS properly, for example not to dial 999 for issues that do not need an emergency response. People should dial 111 or go to their GP rather than go to the emergency department.”
Cornwall Council has suggested one way to alleviate bed blocking is for people to look after neighbours and family when they return home.
But Mr Dunn said “the system can’t rely on volunteerism in that way to fill the gaps” although he added that the voluntary sector of organisations and charities in Cornwall could be a way of boosting the capacity for caring.
“They must be considered to be part of the system and part of the health resources to deliver services at that local level. That is not the situation at the moment, not just in Cornwall, but elsewhere as well.”
He said the new Integrated Care System in Cornwall would be creating links between health, social care and the voluntary sector but it would take time to bed in. “Everything takes time, it is a juggernaut, an oil tanker rather than a speedboat and it will take more than months, probably years, to change the structure to make it more responsive and more efficient.”
The Healthwatch boss said there was a need for a more joined up approach amongst all agencies and organisations to help try and improve things - from the NHS and housing services to the council and education and training providers.
He added: “It is a good process in how to identify the challenges and what solutions there might be but, ultimately, the same problem will always be there about resources and councils being able to do everything they want to do.”
The chief executive said that the health and care sector was now waiting to see what the new Chancellor will do in terms of spending on the NHS and local councils and whether there will be any impact from the expected cuts in spending which he admitted “it is not going to be good”.