HL Deb 26 February 1998 vol 586 cc114-6WA
Lord Hamilton of Dalzell

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the impact on hospital waiting lists of beds occupied by medically fit people awaiting discharge who cannot leave because there is no one to look after them. [HL702]

Baroness Jay of Paddington

The importance of effective hospital discharge arrangements cannot be over emphasised. It is crucial that hospitals and social services departments work together to ensure that integrated and sensitive hospital discharge arrangements are in place for people with long-term care needs and to ensure that the impact of delayed discharges on hospital waiting lists is kept to a minimum. Much hard work has already gone into improving joint working in this area but there are still improvements that can be made in most places. When we announced the extra £300 million we were making available to ease the pressures on the health and social care system during the winter period, we made it clear that some of the money should be used to tackle delayed discharges. The information we have for England indicates that the position on delayed discharges of elderly patients is improving. However it is not possible to quantify the impact of this on hospital waiting lists.

Information on delayed discharges is not routinely collected in the rest of the United Kingdom.