Social care delays ‘putting pressure on hospital bed capacity’

A new report has shown how delays in the provision of social care for older people is placing unnecessary strain on NHS hospital bed resources.

New figures from Age UK have shed light on a potential social care crisis in England, with 2.43 million bed days lost to the NHS between June 2010 and March 2015 due to people waiting too long to receive social support.

The study also showed that the average number of patients who were kept in hospital unnecessarily because social care was unavailable increased by 19 percent between 2013/14 and 2014/15.

This is a problematic trend due to the fact that an NHS bed costs on average 1,925 pounds a week, compared to about 558 pounds for a week in residential care or 356.58 pounds for home care.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: "Policymakers must face up to the fact that an ageing population means increasing numbers of older people needing good social care, and unless and until we provide it the pressures on our hospitals will become more and more unsustainable."