§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects only frictional levels of delayed discharge to be achieved; [64523]
(2) how many people he estimates have experienced frictional discharge for each quarter of the last year; and how many he expects to experience frictional discharge in the next year. [64668]
§ Jacqui Smith[holding answer 27 June 2002]: The Government's target is to end widespread delayed discharges by 2004.
The Government are determined to continue to make reducing delayed discharge a priority area. This is the key to getting the right care, in the right place, at the right time for all patients. Under this year's budget, overall social services funding will increase by six per cent. and we intend to bring forward legislation to ensure that good partnership working between the National Health Service and local authority social services reduces the number of delays even further.