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| Record hospital delays discharging patients | Record hospital delays discharging patients |
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| Hospitals are facing record levels of delays in discharging patients, figures from NHS England show. | |
| There were nearly 185,000 days of delays in July, up a quarter on the same month last year. | There were nearly 185,000 days of delays in July, up a quarter on the same month last year. |
| The delays are caused by a lack of available care in the community, and mean vulnerable patients are left stuck on wards while arrangements are made for them to be safely discharged. | The delays are caused by a lack of available care in the community, and mean vulnerable patients are left stuck on wards while arrangements are made for them to be safely discharged. |
| It comes as the NHS continues to miss its key waiting time goals. | It comes as the NHS continues to miss its key waiting time goals. |
| Targets for A&E, cancer care, ambulance response times and routine operations are all being missed - continuing a trend that has been seen in recent months. | Targets for A&E, cancer care, ambulance response times and routine operations are all being missed - continuing a trend that has been seen in recent months. |
| The A&E target has only been met twice in two years, while ambulances have failed to hit their target to respond to the most life-threatening calls for the past 14 months. | The A&E target has only been met twice in two years, while ambulances have failed to hit their target to respond to the most life-threatening calls for the past 14 months. |
| 'Eternal winter' | 'Eternal winter' |
| Delays discharging patients are particularly problematic for hospitals as they have a knock on effect on other parts of the hospital, particularly A&E. | Delays discharging patients are particularly problematic for hospitals as they have a knock on effect on other parts of the hospital, particularly A&E. |
| Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the NHS was stuck in an "eternal winter". | Dr Mark Holland, president of the Society for Acute Medicine, said the NHS was stuck in an "eternal winter". |
| "We should be winning in July, yet the latest statistics show urgent and emergency care under further strain and a considerable rise in delayed discharges." | "We should be winning in July, yet the latest statistics show urgent and emergency care under further strain and a considerable rise in delayed discharges." |
| Nigel Edwards, of the Nuffield Trust health think-tank, said: "The days of a traditional summer respite for the NHS are gone for good. | Nigel Edwards, of the Nuffield Trust health think-tank, said: "The days of a traditional summer respite for the NHS are gone for good. |
| "The figure for delays in discharging patients from hospital is particularly worrying. | "The figure for delays in discharging patients from hospital is particularly worrying. |
| "What's more, I am very concerned that these official figures systematically understate the true scale of the problem - I think NHS England and the Department of Health should look more rigorously at the way they calculate these delays. | "What's more, I am very concerned that these official figures systematically understate the true scale of the problem - I think NHS England and the Department of Health should look more rigorously at the way they calculate these delays. |
| "The NHS stands no chance of transforming the way care is delivered to patients while it is still struggling with this problem". | "The NHS stands no chance of transforming the way care is delivered to patients while it is still struggling with this problem". |