BED-BLOCKING remains a challenge for the Hospital and the Island, the chief officer for the Health Department has admitted.
Interim chief officer Chris Bown, speaking after latest figures showed that more than 30 people were fit to be discharged but could not leave because of a lack of care options, said the situation was not unique to Jersey but was ‘not good care’.
Mr Bown highlighted the importance of the third sector in providing post-hospital care, with his comments echoed by the chair of the Jersey Care Federation.
Data released by the Health Department showed that on 31 July there were 28 ‘delayed transfer’ patients in the General Hospital with no onward placements, and three other patients who were also medically fit but needed assessment or interventions in hospital prior to leaving.
The number of delayed transfer patients recorded at the end of previous months in 2023 fluctuated from 36 to 46 between January and May inclusive, the figures showed.
Mr Bown said: ‘It’s just not good care, we should not be doing it and we’ve got to find a solution.
‘It’s not easy – if it was, we would have done it by now – and it’s something that’s faced by the UK and other jurisdictions.’
‘Important debates’ needed to continue regarding third-sector providers such as care homes and home care agencies, which would usually assume responsibility for patients’ care after leaving hospital, Mr Bown added.
‘The third sector is an absolutely essential part of the whole patient pathway – if you are providing an integrated health service you can’t do it without the third sector,’ he said.
‘Often it’s to do with investment and debates about future investment in the third sector are ongoing, and it’s also linked to recruitment – you need healthcare assistants to work in care homes.’
Care federation chair Cheryl Kenealy said: ‘We entirely agree with the observations made by Chris Bown regarding the serious challenges of bed-blocking and in particular his comments around the need to engage with the care sector to find solutions.
‘Our views on this matter have been clear and articulated to ministers repeatedly for some time – we can significantly help the situation, but we need funding.
‘We are told repeatedly that, in Mr Bown’s own words, “investment” in our sector is vital, but we have not received any support, unlike many other sectors, for example, the recent £300k grant to support fishing.’
Work by members of the federation to bring skilled carers to Jersey to address a workforce shortage had resulted in around 50 new recruits over the past year, but a similar quantity were still required to leave the sector able to deal with patients ready to leave hospital, Ms Kenealy added.
Hiring new recruits would typically cost around £3,000 per person, the federation has estimated – Ms Kenealy said that this was where government could support the sector.
‘We aren’t talking millions of pounds, it wouldn’t even need to be the amount that’s been given to the fishing industry,’ she said. ‘The federation is doing everything possible, even though it has no staff and those involved are taking time out of their day-jobs and giving their time voluntarily.’
Care federation members are working to develop a new policy for those leaving hospital, including both homecare and care homes – Ms Kenealy said this would be published soon, and that she hoped that the government’s focus on the topic would help bring about the required action.
