BMA raises concerns over delayed hospital discharges

The British Medical Association (BMA) has called for the government to take action to address the continued rise in delayed hospital discharge figures.

Recent data from NHS England shows that the number of adult patients whose discharge was held up rose from 11.1 percent in 2014-15 to 12.3 per cent last year, marking the continuation of a trend that originally began in 2013-14.

Between January and March this year, just over 61 percent of delayed discharges were due to the NHS, compared with 66.5 percent over the same period in 2015. However, the number of discharges due to social care capacity rose from 26.2 percent to 32.2 percent over the same time frame.

With a recent report showing that the NHS spends 820 million pounds a year on patients over 65 occupying hospital beds they do not need, this is a problem that needs to be solved to free up valuable resources.

BMA community care committee chair Gary Wannan said: "Delayed discharges keep patients away from their home, away from their usual carers and family and cost the NHS more – nobody can ever win through this arrangement."