Blocked beds.
In a cross-sectional survey of 325 surgical and orthopaedic beds 43 (16%) of the 265 occupied beds were filled by patients who had no medical need to be in an acute ward. They had been in hospital for a median time of 40 weeks up to the survey date. Of the 43 patients, 11 were awaiting transfer to a geriatric ward; 13 to community residential care; and seven to their homes. There was no plan for discharge or transfer for the remaining 12 (28%). Those "at risk" of becoming long-stay patients for social reasons on these wards were women, over 75, living alone or with one relative, who had been admitted to hospital in emergency with a fractured femur, head injury, or other trauma. Action necessary to reduce the number of social long-stay patients includes (a) changing attitudes to the solving of social case problems; (b) revising procedures of assessment and planning of future care; (c) improving teamwork and record keeping within the hospital and the community services; (d) providing a better balance of acute, medium and long-stay hospital beds; and (e) putting more resources into rehabilitation.
D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D000368:Aged; D003153:Community Health Services; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006757:Hospital Units; D006760:Hospitalization; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged