Care Providers Report Weeks-Long Waits for People to Be Discharged From Hospital

The government has branded the NHS hospital discharge system “broken” as a survey revealed almost a fifth of care providers across the UK reported weeks-long waiting times for people to be transferred into their care. The survey of 568 care homes and homecare providers across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland found wide regional variations and prompted sector leaders to say “enough is enough” as they repeated calls for urgent reform of the social care system. Some 17 percent of respondents said the average length of time for a person to be discharged into their care from hospital is one to two weeks, while around 7 percent said the average wait was three or more weeks....