THERE were more than 180 people a day stuck in hospitals overnight in Hampshire last month who didn’t need to be there.

The trust which runs Basingstoke hospital – Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – is working with health and social care partners as the number of patients ‘bed blocking’ is on the rise.

Figures released last week by NHS England indicated that an average of 181 beds per day were occupied by people ready to be discharged from Hampshire Hospitals in October – up from 174 the month before.

Comparably 208 beds per day were occupied by people ready to be discharged from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust in October – up from 206 the month before.

Bed blocking refers to the occupation of hospital beds by healthy individuals, due to a shortage of suitable care elsewhere. This means that individuals who need hospital care may be unable to access beds in hospital, as they are being "blocked" by individuals healthy enough for discharge. 

The figures come after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced, in his Autumn Statement, an extra £2.7bn over the next two years would be invested in adult social care services in a bid to reduce bed blocking, alongside the £500m discharge fund.

Some £200m of the discharge fund is allocated to local authorities to bolster the social care workforce, while £300m will be given to integrated care boards, which have replaced clinical commissioning groups.

Hampshire Hospitals chief operating officer Andy Hyett said: "Ensuring patients leave the hospital as soon as they are medically ready to do so is an important part of care and supporting recovery.

"We know that there are patients waiting longer to move on to their next step of care and are working together with our partners in health and social care to improve this. We are also embracing new technologies such as virtual wards which enable us to continue to support people in their own home.

“In October alone, we cared for and discharged more than 4,300 patients who needed emergency care, whilst continuing to run our planned care, children and maternity services.”

Despite thousands being discharged, NHS figures revel that just 17 per cent of hospital patients were discharged when they were ready in October – down from 19 per cent in September. Nationally that figure was 40 per cent.

In response to the figures, David Maguire, senior analyst at the King's Fund, said the problem is "another chapter in an ongoing story" as the NHS continues to deal with post-coronavirus pandemic pressures and stretched budgets.

Mr Maguire said: "It’s not crept up on anyone and is a continuation of the pressures we have seen on social care over several years.

"The sector is hitting a tipping point."

He explained that social care services have been cut due to reduced funding for local authorities, meaning many patients are waiting in hospitals for adequate care packages to be installed, such as home adaptions, places in care homes or community health support.

Meanwhile, Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, the membership organisation for NHS trusts, added: "Nobody in the NHS wants people to be kept waiting but pressure on social care and community services means that hospitals struggle to discharge people who’re well enough to leave.

"To ease pressure on the NHS, the Government must act now to fix chronic staff shortages and an underfunded social care system."