Bed blocking 'is now biggest healthcare issue in Shropshire'

Andy Begley, Shropshire Council's director of adult services, said that conference calls between officials at the authority and local hospitals – which take place at times of escalation – are now almost daily.

Speaking to the council's adult and social care scrutiny committee, Mr Begley said there is currently immense pressure on the health system.

"It remains the biggest issue and the one that is costing the most for the system," said Mr Begley.

Figures given to the scrutiny committee show that the number of days patients are being delayed in transferring from hospitals has increased by 10 per cent in the past 12 months. The most recent statistics available from NHS England show the number of delayed days per month for transferring patients in Shropshire is 1,076 – up from 970.

The report states: "Delayed day numbers in Shropshire for the 12-month period to November 2016 have increased when compared to the previous 12 months.

"The average number of delayed days per month is 1,076 compared to 970 – an increase of 10.9 per cent. During the same period, there has been an increase of 22.1 per cent across England."

Councillor Peter Nutting praised the efforts of the council in trying to cut down on delayed transfers of care.

"We actually help more people than we ever used to in the past and I think we are doing a good job. The pressure is not going to go away, so I would like to acknowledge the good job that we are doing and the hospitals," said Councillor Nutting.

Despite its efforts a national report has identified Shropshire Council as being in the worst quarter of authorities in England for the amount of patients waiting with a delayed transfer of care caused by social care issues.

Earlier this month it was revealed that so called bed blocking at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford had averaged more than 90 patients a week for the past 12 months.

The figures indicate the scale of the problem facing Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust with last October seeing 384 patients medically fit for transfer over the month – translating to 2,703 lost bed days.

On average patients are unnecessarily taking up the beds for seven days at a time. Some of the reasons for the delays in transfers are that there are no available beds in the community or because it takes time to arrange for carers.

In its most recent report SaTH said that the average lost bed days per month was up by 25.54 per cent for the first six months of 2016/17 when compared with the same period for the previous year.