Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Moving Patients into Social Care

Tuesday 1 November 2022 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government acknowledges the challenge of delayed discharges due to social care shortages.
  • Minister is willing to meet and visit hospitals facing step-down care shortages.
  • Local services have not received promised 500 million social care discharge funding.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andy Carter
NHS Social Care
Context

The question arises due to the increasing number of delayed discharges and shortage of social care, particularly impacting patient flow in hospitals.

Question

What steps he is taking to help move patients who no longer need acute care from hospitals into social care settings?

Answer from Helen Whately

When a patient no longer needs acute hospital care, they are usually better off outside hospital and that frees up their bed for somebody else. Delayed discharges are nothing new, but they have been getting worse in part because of the shortage of social care. That is why the Government have announced £500 million to speed up discharges from hospital into social care this winter.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not specify concrete steps or timeline for addressing delayed discharges specifically in Warrington or other areas facing shortages.

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Q2 Andy Carter
NHS
Context

Warrington faces a severe shortage of beds for step-down care, affecting local hospital operations due to lack of social care availability. The integrated care board's relocation complicates coordination.

Question

Warrington is at least 90 beds short in terms of step-down care. A local hospital has too many long-term patients who simply cannot be discharged because there is nowhere for them to go. I am told there is capital funding available. We have two local NHS trusts, a local authority and the integrated care board, which is no longer in Warrington but now in Liverpool, but no action is being taken. Will the Minister come to Warrington to meet local NHS leaders and me, so we can secure access for patients who are spending too long in acute hospital care?

Answer from Helen Whately

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about patients spending too long in acute care in his own hospital. We know this is affecting other people around the country. I am very happy to meet him and I would very much like to visit his hospital and speak to his NHS, the local authority and other stakeholders to ensure we can improve the situation.

Answered
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Q3 Barbara Keeley Lab
NHS
Context

Tony Hickmott, an autistic man, was detained for over two decades often under seclusion. The case highlights misuse of NHS funding and need for better community support.

Question

Tony Hickmott is an autistic man who was detained in an in-patient unit for 22 years, often in near total seclusion, against his wishes and those of his parents, Pam and Roy. Tony now has his own home in the community, but the NHS spent £11 million on his detention in the last nine years after doctors considered him fit for discharge. Can the Minister comment on the wasted years Tony and his family spent fighting to get him free? What will she do to release the 2,000 other autistic people and people with learning disabilities detained in in-patient settings who would receive far more effective care in the community?

Answer from Helen Whately

The hon. Member raises Tony's individual case, which is very hard to hear about. She and I know there are too many others in this situation. She will know, too, that I listened to this when I was formerly a Health Minister. It is a difficult problem to solve, but we should absolutely continue to work with the NHS, the Care Quality Commission and local authorities to ensure people who are not benefiting from being in in-patient settings are able to get the care and support they need in the community.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific measures or timeline for releasing individuals like Tony Hickmott into effective community care.

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Q4 Liz Kendall Lab Leicester West
NHS Social Care
Context

The previous Health Secretary promised £500 million for social care discharge funding, but it has not been seen yet. This affects elderly patients staying in hospitals unnecessarily.

Question

The previous Health Secretary promised £500 million social care discharge funding for this winter, but it is 1 November and not a single penny of that money has been seen. I am afraid that the political chaos and incompetence over the last few weeks means that local services cannot properly plan and thousands more elderly people are trapped in hospitals when they do not need to be, with all the knock-on consequences for the rest of the NHS. Will the Minister now tell us: is this money still available? When will it be released? Can she guarantee that it will be genuinely new funding, not found from cuts made elsewhere?

Answer from Helen Whately

I am sure the hon. Member heard the answer I gave a moment ago to a similar question. I absolutely acknowledge the challenge of discharges. The challenge is nothing new, but it has indeed worsened, in part due to the availability of social care. That is one reason why the Government have announced the £500 million discharge fund. I am just a few days into this job—[Interruption.] I am looking at the proposals on how this will—[Interruption.] If she will listen, I am looking to make sure that we allocate that money effectively, because we know that money is tight and we must absolutely make sure that every penny of the funding is well spent on improving the discharge from hospital to people's homes.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide specific timeline or assurance about release of £500 million fund.

How: Interruption

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