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       #Post#: 107--------------------------------------------------
       What is causing the delays in discharging patients from hospital
       ?
       By: admini5 Date: May 12, 2015, 3:47 am
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       What is causing the delays in discharging patients from hospital
       that have impacted on the ability to admit new patients from
       A&E?
       The higher number of patients waiting to be admitted into a
       hospital bed from A&E than in previous years points not only to
       patients being admitted when they are sicker, but also to
       pressure on beds in other parts of hospitals. This leads to
       disruption in the flow of patients though A&E. Delays in
       discharging patients prevent beds being freed up for those who
       need to be admitted, adding to pressures on emergency
       departments. The number of delayed discharges was relatively
       stable up until the start of 2014/15 but since then the total
       number of delays has increased by 19 per cent and numbers now
       stand at more than 5,000 patients per day who are experiencing a
       delayed discharge.
       Closer analysis of the reasons for these delays suggests that
       the proportion of delayed discharges attributable to the NHS
       (caused, for example, by delays in accessing community or mental
       health services) has risen from around 60 per cent in 2010/11 to
       more than 68 per cent in 2014/15. The proportion attributable to
       social care meanwhile has fallen from 35 per cent to around 26
       per cent of the total number of delayed days. Around 14 per cent
       of delays are attributed to patient or family choice. Of the
       proportion attributable to social care, only a small proportion
       will be eligible for care funded by the local authority, and
       waits for public funding account for just 4 per cent of total
       delayed days (in 2010 it was 8 per cent).
       This suggests that capacity and workforce issues, particularly
       in nursing homes and non-acute services are becoming more
       important than social care funding issues. With nearly a fifth
       of delays due to waits for non-acute NHS care, the need for
       better co-ordination between different parts of the NHS is just
       as significant as the need for co-ordination at the NHS and
       social care interface.
       The figure below shows the average number of patients delayed
       per day. It is worth noting that our discussions with some
       hospital staff suggest that those patients formally recorded as
       a ‘delayed transfer of care’ only represent the tip of the
       iceberg and that many more patients are actually well enough to
       be discharged to home.
       Figure 6: Delayed transfers of care: average number of patients
       delayed per day each month
       [img width=20
       height=14]
  HTML http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/files/kf/styles/large/public/media/delayed-transfers-of-care.jpg?itok=40j-Q3OE[/img]
       For further information:
  HTML http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/urgent-emergency-care/urgent-and-emergency-care-mythbusters
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