Men need to ‘break the taboo’ of talking about women’s health, Wetherby and Easingwold MP saysCouncil awarded £2m to tackle bed blocking in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire County Council has been awarded £2 million to tackle bed blocking in hospitals.

The Department of Health and Social Care announced a £500 million fund to help speed up the discharge of patients across the country.

The county council, which is responsible for adult care, has been granted a total of £2,019,667 of this to increase its social care workforce and increase capacity to take on more patients from hospital.

Two months ago  Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said the problem of patients staying in hospital longer than they should because of a lack of private care services was the “biggest issue” the trust faced.

The government said local authorities and health trusts will be free to spend the money on initiatives which have the “greatest impact in their area on reducing discharges into social care”.

Helen Whately, Minister of State for Care, said:

“People should be cared for in the best place for them, but discharge delays mean patients are spending too long in hospital.

“Our discharge fund will get more people cared for in the right place at the right time. We’re asking hospitals and the social care system to work together to help patients and carers too, who often take on a lot of the burden of caring when someone leaves hospital.

“The discharge fund will boost the social care workforce and in turn reduce pressures on the NHS and hospital staff, as it frees up beds and helps improve ambulance handover delays.”

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Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust has already sought to introduce a home care service to free up beds.

A spokesperson for the trust said previously:

“Currently, bed occupancy at our hospitals is around 90%. Due to the increased number of planned operations that are being performed we have more patients occupying beds following their surgery.

“However, bed occupancy is also impacted by patients who no longer require hospital care, but are unable to be discharged as they do not have a suitable location where they can continue their recovery, such as a residential care home, or appropriate home care to support them in their own homes.”

Coronavirus test error could delay Harrogate man’s surgery

A Harrogate man fears a problem with the NHS coronavirus test booking website could delay his surgery.

Terry Jones needs to test negative for coronavirus before he can be admitted to hospital but so far he has been unable to secure a test.

Mr Jones is not exhibiting any coronavirus symptoms but there is no option on the site to book a test because a clinician asks you to do so.

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Mr Jones, who asked for details of his surgery to remain private, told the Stray Ferret:

“I could lie on the form but I don’t know how that could impact my treatment going forward if I said I have coronavirus symptoms. I hope that it does not delay my surgery. There will be tens of thousands more people just like me.”

There is no “my clinician has asked me to get a test” option.

Mr Jones said the NHS site had recently removed the “a clinician has asked me to get a test” option as well as the option to book a test before going on holiday.

The Stray Ferret took his concerns to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). A spokesperson said:

“We have always been clear if you have symptoms of coronavirus, or are asked by a clinician or local authority to get a test then you should apply for one.

“We are seeing a significant demand for tests. That’s why we have simplified the booking process.”

The DHSC did not commit to reviewing the booking website to give users the option of saying their clinician had recommended they book a test.

It comes shortly after one Harrogate mum was informed by the coronavirus test website she had to drive to Oldham next month for a test.