Hilary looks at the effects of the backlog in Court cases while Sebastian takes a train from the least visited station in the country. Amanda Hunter brings solutions to the myriad problems of social care. And in Culture Club, Sarah Bartlett reviews The Collapse of the Conservatives.
Get in touch:
hilary.salt@sdp.org.uk
sebatian.moore@sdp.org.uk
Recommendations:
The Collapse of the Conservatives – Steve Rayson
The answer to the NHS/Social Care issue is easily found to anyone prepared to look up NHS Delayed Discharges.
In Scotland alone, in 23/24 “bed blocking” took up 666,190 days of hospital care, at a cost of around £300 per day. £300 would pay for a week of homecare for most patient discharges. Instead of simply paying for the care, the NHS keeps the patient in hospital and blames the local council. The council doesnt get this £300 per day from the NHS, and is instead struggling to source and fund enough care for existing clients from its own coffers, and several are going bust as a result. So the patient stays in hospital where they deteriorate, the hospital loses a bed, and the taxpayer gets stuffed.
Solution… Merge Health and Social Care into one organisation. This actually already exists, in Northern Ireland. Called a Health & Social Care Trust. Why not England, Scotland and Wales?.