Shropshire’s share of the Government emergency £200 million discharge fund is the lowest in England at a paltry £1.75 million, despite 1 in 5 of Shrewsbury and Telford hospital beds being occupied by people who should have been discharged into the community.
Shropshire’s share of the Government emergency £200 million discharge fund is the lowest in England despite the area having some of the worst bed-blocking and A&E delays in the country, new figures show.
Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System is getting just £1.75 million from the £200 million fund to support hospital discharges, announced by Health Secretary Steve Barclay last week. This is less than anywhere else in England despite the area having the 7th highest rate of beds occupied by patients medically fit for discharge (19%) during the winter months of 2022-23.
The latest figures for January 8th show that 150 (1 in 5) of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust’s (SaTH’s) 700 in-patient beds are occupied with people who should have been discharged, of which 45 have been in hospital for over 3 weeks. By comparison, Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent currently have no patients admitted in these categories.
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan and Shropshire’s Liberal Democrat councillors want the money to be immediately invested in freeing up beds and recruiting enough care staff but have criticised the Government allocation as “too little, too late” for the current winter crisis.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said:
“Once again the Government has shown that Shropshire is bottom of its list of priorities.
“Our hardworking doctors, nurses and carers have been crying out for help but the Conservatives have dragged their heels and are now ignoring local needs when it comes to allocating cash.
“Freeing up beds and getting patients flowing through hospitals again is key for reducing A&E waits, tackling ambulance delays and saving lives. It’s so frustrating that the Government has left it until January to start thinking about the winter crisis and has now failed to focus on the areas with the most need.
“Local health leaders are going to have to move rapidly to try and make best use of the scant funding they have been given to boost social care in Shropshire and help the NHS.”
Bernie Bentick, former NHS consultant and Liberal Democrat Councillor for Meole, said:
“This latest meagre allocation to assist hospital discharges is once more too little and too late for the many Shropshire people who have suffered over this winter.
“Care for those hospital patients assessed to need it should be fully funded, which would need a further £3.6 million per year to prevent a recurrence of delayed discharges and the knock-on effects on hospital and ambulance performance.
“Many patients have been discharged home and are awaiting care packages which are delayed or do not happen at all.”
Councillor Heather Kidd, Shropshire County Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health, said:
“People are being discharged from hospital to houses that haven’t been seen by occupational therapists. One elderly gentleman I know was discharged to a house with no heating other than a log burner and it isn’t safe – and certainly not in cold weather.
“It’s a fall waiting to happen. That is not safe and should not happen.
“It’s a real concern that people are being discharged to unsafe properties and then get readmitted to hospital and we go round in a vicious circle.”
Shropshire’s Liberal Democrats are calling for:
- The Lib Dem’s 5-point winter plan to be implemented.
- Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICS to pay enhanced rates in the short term, to allow care providers to employ Care Agency staff, re-hire staff who have left and encourage existing staff to do additional work, where safe to do so.
- STW ICS and Shropshire Council to produce a comprehensive package to restore the quality of social care in the long term.
- Wards to be re-opened in Shropshire’s community hospitals for transitional care and assessment.