HOSPITALS are hailing a "turning point" in the battle against bed blocking after the number of delayed patients dropped to its lowest level in at least six years.

There were 57 patients delayed in Oxfordshire's hospitals in June, an unprecedented reduction of almost 60 per cent on the previous year.

It also dramatically bucked a national trend that saw delays worsen by 25 per cent across the rest of the country.

The turnaround is being credited to a £2m scheme launched in December, when Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust specially commissioned 150 care home beds for patients to move on to.

The trust also hired extra support workers on higher-than-average salaries and set up a joint working team with Oxford Health, Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group to organise transfers.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail tonight, trust clinical director Paul Brennan said: "This is a massive improvement and has been delivered through a collaborative approach between health authorities in Oxfordshire.

"We have halved the delays and for us the challenge is to continue focusing on services rather than beds and go even lower.

"I think we have now turned a corner."

Oxford Mail:

  • Oxfordshire has been one of the worst areas in the country for bed blocking rates for more than a decade.

The "significant" improvement was also praised by Yvonne Constance OBE, chairwoman of the county's health scrutiny committee.

The county councillor added: "This is a turning point and we are seeing a real impact being made.

"The hospitals trust has addressed this problem with energy and new ideas, as well as recognition that we can deliver the right care outside a hospital environment.

"What is most significant is the integration of health and social care funding, the hospital has funded these beds and supported them with nursing staff."

Carol Moore, executive director of the patient watchdog Healthwatch, said: "After 10 years of trying to fix the problem, it seems we have finally landed on something that actually works.

"These figures are very promising and we hope they will continue to get even lower.

"If you are well enough to leave, you should not be in a hospital."

Oxfordshire had been among the worst areas in the country for its high levels of bed blocking for more than 10 years. 

The problem occurs when patients fit enough to leave hospital have nowhere to be discharged.

Several different attempts to tackle the problem have been made over the years but none have previously been successful. 

Officials said they were cautiously optimistic this time, after the number of delayed patients plummeted from 123 in January to just 57 in six months.

THE FIGURES:

June 2011 – 103
June 2012 – 152
June 2013 – 128 
June 2014 – 104
June 2015 – 131

January 2016 – 123
February 2016 – 91
March 2016 – 93
April 2016 – 69
May 2016 – 76
June 2016 – 57