Harrogate 'not immune' from bed blocking warns Harrogate Lib Dem figure after new NHS data highlights the situation

Tom Gordon said although the new research on bed blocking - sourced from NHS England by the national Liberal Democratic Party - is focused on the impact of the social care crisis on England as a whole, it also throws light on the local situation, too.

When it comes to Harrogate, Mr Gordon says the NHS figures reveal that 783 bed days were lost to delayed discharges from Harrogate District Hospital in the latest data available for the week commencing 22nd May 2023.

Of these, almost half of bed days lost involved patients who had been stuck in hospital for three weeks or more.

Delayed discharges take place when medically fit patients are unable to leave hospital, often due to a lack of social care.

“These worrying figures show the disastrous impact the social care crisis is having on our local health services," said Mr Gordon, who is a former health services researcher.

“Far too many elderly and vulnerable people are ending up stuck in hospital when they are ready to leave, because there simply isn’t the care available for them at home or in the community."

In response, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation said it was a complex situation which it was working hard to improve on for all patients.

“The health and wellbeing of our patients is our primary concern and we will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure patients who no longer require our care can be discharged as soon as possible so they can continue their recovery or further treatment in the most suitable location for them,” said a spokesperson for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation.

"We constantly track the number of days that patients remain in hospital after they are medically optimised, which is the point at which care and assessment could be continued at home or in a non-acute setting, or when the patient has recovered and is ready to go home.

“The figure reported reflects the number of cumulative extra days patients, who have been in hospital for seven days or longer, have stayed across the week.

"At any one time, we typically have between 130-170 patients in our hospital who have been in our care for seven days or longer.

"This figure includes patients who have been medically optimised and those that have not.

“The number of patients that remain in Harrogate District Hospital for longer than 7, 14 or 21 days has reduced over the last few months.

"Patients who do remain in hospital beyond their medically optimised date can do so for many complex reasons.

"Some of these reasons are linked to delays with social care, but they can also relate to other aspects, such as patients who are waiting to transfer for treatment in a specialist unit operated by another organisation.”

The Lib Dems say the new data shows that, across the nation, the NHS lost over 128,800 bed days to delayed discharges from hospital, up 32% on the same period last year.

Harrogate Lib Dem’s Parliamentary spokesperson Tom Gordon said far more needed to be done by the Government to tackle bed blocking.

“It is clear the adult social care crisis is causing unneeded pain and distress, while piling even more pressure on our already overstretched hospitals,” he said.

"This is an issue that hits close to home to me.

"Last year my grandfather, who lived in North Yorkshire, spent months bed blocking in a hospital, because a care package for him to be sent home.

“Sadly, he passed away on New Year’s Day this year, and the last year of his life was made a misery for him and my Gran who were needlessly separated.

“The Liberal Democrats know that you can’t fix the crisis in the NHS without fixing the crisis in social care.

"But successive Conservative Government have failed to get a grip with the social care crisis and our most vulnerable are paying the price.

"We want to see the Government start valuing carers properly by bringing in a Carer’s Minimum Wage.

"This would help reduce soaring vacancies in social care and tackle the crisis facing the NHS."