Equivalent of 36 acute hospitals out of action due to delayed discharges

NHS chief executive reveals extent of delayed discharge at MPs' cross-party inquiry into adult social care funding

The equivalent of 36 acute hospitals are out of action because of delays in discharging patients, the head of the NHS in England told MPs.

About 18,000 people currently in hospital have been waiting for more than 21 days to be discharged, said NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens.

The delays are often caused by a lack of social care as the country grapples with the pressures of an ageing population, he said.

Mr Stevens made the comments in evidence to the Commons health and social care committee and the housing, communities and local government committee on Tuesday. The cross-party committees are conducting a joint inquiry into the long-term funding of adult social care.

Care home places

'The pressures are really being experienced by frail older people,' Mr Stevens said.

'As we are an ageing country, it shows up in terms of the support people have in their own homes, it shows up in the availability of high-quality care home places and it shows up in the fact that today, of the 100,000 hospital beds across England, about 18,000 are filled with people who have been stuck in hospital for more than 21 days.

'A lot of that is attributable to difficulties getting discharged because of the social care support people need. That is the equivalent of having 36 of our acute hospitals out of action.'

Inadequate supply of social care

The NHS chief executive said there was a fundamental undersupply of social care for both working-age adults and older people.

'The way the system works is arguably unfair and certainly hard to navigate,' he added.

• RELATED: Councils to work with NHS to tackle delayed discharge – Jeremy Hunt

Mr Stevens said the integration between health and social care had improved quite significantly over the past 18 months, but there was still 'antagonism' in parts of the country.

He told the MPs: 'It takes two to tango and both dance partners are getting closer to each other, but we are not yet ready for Strictly.'

Integrated services

Earlier in the committee hearing, Care England chief executive Martin Green said the social care system needs to be set 'in the same space as the NHS'.

'The starting point needs to be in the integration debate, to have a clear policy that is about the health and social care workforce,' he told MPs.

Professor Green added: 'It's not helpful when we are told on one day that we've got a health and social care workforce but on the next we're told that there's going to be a pay increase for NHS staff and nobody else.

'The rhetoric needs to match the practice or people need to stop talking about integration.'

Further information

• Find out more about the MPs' inquiry

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