Summary
It is estimated that 30,000 patients each year are kept in hospital despite being well enough to be discharged, particularly elderly patients waiting for a place in a nursing home and people with dementia. Based on figures from 2010, the cost of keeping a patient in a hospital bed overnight is £300 plus.
NHS managers are rumoured to be entertaining plans for hospital hotels to care for patients who no longer need 24-hour medical care but who cannot yet be discharged. Under NHS England proposals, elderly patients waiting to be discharged, new mothers and stroke patients could recover in hotel-style facilities based on a Scandinavian model.
Read more: BBC News: NHS bosses ponder hospital hotels to ease ward pressure.
Reference
NHS bosses ponder hospital hotels to ease ward pressure. London: BBC Health News, April 23rd 2013.
[A brief reference to this item features in Dementia and Elderly Care: the Latest Evidence Newsletter (RWNHST), Volume 3 Issue 7, May 2013].
