What’s the answer to ‘bed blocking’?

[Cuppasoupmonster]

Another day, another article about ‘bed blockers’ (put in speech marks because I know it’s a bit of a goady term).

I was shocked to find out a third of beds are taken up by ‘social patients’ in some trusts, who are medically fine to be discharged but can’t be because the care they need afterwards isn’t in place. I feel irate that the whole point of lockdowns to ‘stop the NHS from being overwhelmed’ needn’t have happened if it wasn’t overwhelmed in this way to start with.

Whats the answer? Early intervention so they don’t end up in hospital in the first place? A rise in taxes to pay for more services? I’m not sure the working population can afford to pay more tax.

The ‘ageing population’ issue means this can surely only get worse?

Of course it warrants a carers allowance because it requires you to be there. And be there all day as its three meals a day therefore you cant be at work. Because that is what carers allowance is an (albeit low) income replacement

So - what should it be?

A proper income replacement akin to the living wage

If you could make the living wage through making a few meals a day, how many people would want to do this?

Your thread title is whats the answer to bed blocking. You have been given one In fact you have been given more than one by different posters but you find fault with the answers given. Especially if it involves more money and paying family carers their dues. So your question has been answered. But you dont like the answer do you.

There have been posts on here in the past of how family carers have been called upon in the middle of the night because an elderly relative has been discharged at 3am. But you seem to think caring involves chatting and a 4pm cream tea.

There have been posts on here in the past of how family carers have been called upon in the middle of the night because an elderly relative has been discharged at 3am. But you seem to think caring involves chatting and a 4pm cream tea.

I genuinely must’ve missed that post, can you call carers when they are off duty at 3am and ask them to take over from family who are already there?

No, what I’m asking is at what point does ‘general family relationships’ cross into a ‘caring’ role which requires a full time salary from the government. Nobody seems to have the answer.

should hold the government to account who have inadequately planned for the elderly population.

The elderly (or age 60+ anyway) are the age group most likely to vote.
Some of them literally voted for the quality of care they are getting.
They literally voted en masse for Brexit which worsened the soc-care staffing crisis.

Not fair on those who voted against Brexit, & against Tory govts who delivered austerity and have been in power in most councils & nationally most the time since 1980... but yeah, the "elderly" mostly reaped what they sowed.

I agree. I find the idea of keeping people alive who are old and infirm and dependent on others to be abhorrent, and we as a society simply can’t afford it. If I ever get to the point that I can’t look after myself (with no prospect of that changing) I shall go to Dignitas or simply stop eating. What happened to dying with dignity?

NO the NHS has called family members to come pick up their relative at 3am. Because they are being discharged.

Ive been on MN for 11 and a half years and stuff like this tends to stick in your mind.

What happened to dying with dignity?

It makes other people ‘uncomfortable’ because they’ve been watching too many Disney films.

It crosses over when ONCE MORE FOR THE HARD OF THINKING AND THE GOADY when the carer cant go to work because they have to be with the person they care for and your example of cooking three meals a day means they need to PHYSICALLY be there so cant physically go to work.

Because they havent invented a way of cooking a meal and caring over the internet quite yet.

Wouldn’t family do that anyway? That has happened multiple times in my family and none of us are paid as family carers.

Goady 😂 that meaningless chestnut.

People do this all the time and still turn up to work in the morning. And for the ‘hard of understanding’ if we implemented the system I suggested many of them wouldn’t end up in hospital to be collected at 3am anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️

If that has happened to you multiple times why on earth did you pretend not to know what i was talking about in an earlier post???? Gaslight much!

You think a 3am discharge is reasonable? I bet you wouldnt think a family carer deciding to drop a relative off somewhere at 3am is reasonable.

What on Earth are you talking about? Are you drinking wine?

"People do this all the time and still turn up to work in the morning"

Wow your colleugues must be really something. They should be head hunted by the NHS

I don’t know anyone who’s ever been called upon to do it, let alone all the time.

No, they’re knackered. Which is why we have to stop the elderly being in and out of A&E like a revolving door, rather than expecting the hospital to have the check out times of a Premier Inn, which is totally unreasonable

No im teetoal Also 50 this year and have never been drunk. You denied 3am discharges happen and then said you had experienced them multiple times.

Gaslighting 101

A 3am discharge is completely unreasonable, but does it happen often? I've never experienced anything other than day time discharges, and several of those have involved sitting around for hours waiting for medication from the pharmacy.

It happens rarely, I can’t say it’s unreasonable when we know how desperately they need the beds back, particularly if A&E.

You just said you had experienced them multiple times. Now you say it happens rarely So which is it?

Of course it’s unreasonable which is why it rarely never happens.

Of course it’s rare, and like I said mainly A&E, who will always kick you out if you don’t need admission. Have you been to an A&E that lets you stay until 8am as routine? Because I haven’t. But it has still happened to people I know a handful of times. You’re trying desperately to catch me out but you just look a little silly.

Really? Your local A&E lets people keep their bed for the night even if they’re fit to leave? How amazing.