§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he has taken since 1997 to ensure that people(a) are not discharged from hospital too early and (b) do not stay in hospital longer than necessary. [57524]
§ Jacqui SmithThe number of people aged over 75 with a delayed discharge has fallen from 15.7 per cent. to 10.5 per cent. since 1997. In order that this trend should continue, we have already responded to the issue of delayed discharge with a special grant to councils of £300 million over two years, and the establishment of the `change agents team' dedicated to supporting social services and the national health service to solve these problems locally. We are in the process of updating the hospital discharge workbook, which aims to help health, social services and other agencies improve discharge procedures.
Over the longer term, the Government intend to bring forward legislation to make councils responsible for meeting the costs to the NHS of delayed discharges. The new approach will be about putting in place the right 422W incentives to ensure that people are able to leave hospital as soon as treatment is completed and it is safe for them to do so.