The number of adult patients stuck in hospital beds every day in Nottinghamshire who are well enough to go home has dropped by up to two-thirds.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Adult Social Care and Public Health Select Committee met on 3 March to discuss performance updates in adult health and social care.
A report reviewed by the committee detailed work done between social care and health organisations to reduce the length of time people are waiting for support at home after a hospital admission.
The council’s social care teams support an average of 458 people a month to return home after receiving care from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust.
The committee heard that the number of people in Nottinghamshire waiting in hospital beds but well enough to go home has halved, dropping from 300 to 150 a day over the last year.
Gemma Whysall, System Delivery Director for Urgent Care, said current processes are “slicker, quicker, and more efficient”, adding that the number of people waiting to leave hospital on any given day in Nottinghamshire is now “about 100”, compared to around 300 a day at this time last year.
Increased social work capacity and more efficient data systems, which identify who is waiting for support and where they are located, have reduced the time people wait for social work assessments and support after their hospital care has ended.
In May 2024, people were waiting three days for reablement support – assistance to regain their independence when they return home – from social workers. By December 2024, this had dropped to 1.8 days.
Cllr Philip Owen (Con) asked: “Of the 100 people in hospital this morning, will all 100 of them be out of hospital by tomorrow?”
Responding to Cllr Owen, Cllr Jonathan Wheeler (Con) said: “It depends on the individual circumstances and where in the county they are located. Some councils in the north of the county do not have any temporary accommodation themselves, so it might take the [County Council] a few days to find them suitable accommodation.”
Nicola Peace, Group Manager for Urgent and Emergency Care, said that 10 of these individuals will be referred to adult social care services, fewer than 10 will not leave the hospital by the following day, and the rest will be waiting to be transferred from the hospital or “transfer of care hubs”.
These “hubs” enable health organisations to collaborate, coordinating and discussing care options for a patient’s discharge.
Ms Peace added that there are still challenges with arranging transport for patients going home and organising the medications they are discharged with.
Cllr Owen said: “I’m at a loss to understand why this is so problematic. You’ve got pharmacists in hospitals – from what you’re telling me, the left hand and the right hand are not necessarily communicating as quickly as they should.”
Cllr Wheeler responded: “It’s a partnership effort with the NHS and the Integrated Care Board (ICB). We can’t control the pharmacists, but we are working with them as best we can.”
Ms Peace said that 95% of patients referred to the transfer of care hub before 12pm go home the same day, with 4% being sent to an NHS rehabilitation facility.
She added: “This means we have virtually eliminated the number of people in hospital who go into long-term care. Previously, we had to make decisions about people at the wrong time. Now, people have the support they need to regain their independence and maximise their recovery.
“The remaining 1% may be end-of-life patients or require significant, complex interventions, and they are placed in nursing support facilities. All of these placements can take up to 28 days to arrange and finalise.”
For the current financial year ending 31 March, a government grant of £7,224,972 for adult social care and around £6.7 million for the Integrated Care Board in Nottinghamshire has helped fund additional capacity for social workers and ensure more timely patient discharges from hospital.
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