Bed blocking causes shortage at Russells Hall Hospital

Around 100 people were taking up beds at Russells Hall in Dudley in January even though they were medically fit to be discharged. This is commonly known as bed blocking and has led to major problems for the hospital in trying to make enough beds available.

The hospital has been battling a major beds shortage over recent weeks, an issue which has been exacerbated by bed blocking.

The problem was so bad it was suggested the Bushey Fields mental health hospital could be used but this was immediately ruled out as there were not enough staff available to cover the area.

The lack of available beds has been partly blamed for the struggles in getting A&E patients seen within four hours. Just 68.7 per cent of patients were seen in four hours in December, way below the 95 per cent national target.

A report on A&E performance said: "This continues to be a challenge for the organisation. An issue is the available community beds. Currently there are about 100 delayed transfers of care. The trust has had to use elective orthopaedic beds due to the lack of capacity.

"The chairman asked what is being done about capacity in the health economy. The chief operating officer confirmed that some accommodation be opened at Bushey Fields but there are no staff available to support additional ward."

Trust chief executive Diane Wake said: "It is important for us to ensure that when patients leave hospital they are being discharged to a suitable location where they can be appropriately cared for. We work very closely with our partners in social services and the clinical commissioning groups to ensure our patients get the best care in the right place.

"We tend to see a spike in these figures every January, when winter pressures are at their highest. The number has reduced to expected levels.

"Patients awaiting discharge inevitably has an impact on capacity and our ability to admit more poorly patients, especially emergency patients, to a hospital bed."