Rising number of Shropshire hospital patients ‘blocking’ beds
About 22 beds a day are occupied by patients who no longer need to be in hospital in Shropshire, new figures have revealed.
A combined 654 days were spent by patients across the county waiting to be discharged or transferred to a different care facility in September, an overall rise from 582 days in the previous month.
Figures from NHS England showed patients at Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital spent 352 days waiting to be discharged or transferred in September.
At Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the orthopaedic hospital in Gobowen, a total of 246 days were spent by patients waiting, during the same month.
Meanwhile, patients at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, which runs community hospitals across the county, spent a total of 56 days waiting to be discharged or transferred. The reasons for the delays were mixed between problems within the NHS and issues with social care. The most popular reason for delays in September was because patients were awaiting a care package in their own home.
Delays in transferring a patient between wards, or from one acute hospital to another, were not included.
With elderly patients often waiting to be signed off, there is concern over the impact delays can have on their health. According to the NHS, a hospital stay of more than 10 days for a person over 80 can lead to 10 years of muscle ageing.
