YEP Says: The human cost of bed crisis
BED-blocking is an ugly phrase. It might do what it says on the tin, but it does not tell the human story.
Take the case of the patient at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust where a medically-fit patient had to wait for nearly 15 months– before being discharged. It can only be guessed how many other people could have been treated if that bed had not been used by someone who didn’t need to be in a hospital.
People are living longer and we need more places to live and be cared for as we get older. It won’t be cheap but it has to be cheaper than a hospital bed. Time to stop blaming and start planning.