NHS data has highlighted the impact of bed blocking on Waltham Forest NHS services

Delayed transfers of care (more commonly called bed blocking) rose by 57% to 6,645 delayed days Waltham Forest in the 2018/19 financial year, according to the data. Newham had a 7% increase and Haringey had an 18% decrease. The figures record the number of days that patients were delayed for.

The King’s Fund guide to delayed transfers of care said: “Delayed transfers ... can cause considerable distress and unnecessarily long stays in hospital for patients. They also affect waiting times for NHS care, as delayed transfers reduce the number of beds available for other patients.”

Nine of the 11 factors the NHS records as a reason for a delay increased during the 2018/19 financial year. Significant increases were in “awaiting nursing home placement or availability,” which accounted for 18% of delays in that period and increased by 45% to 1,365, delayed days and “patient or family choice,” which accounted for 14% of delayed days and increased by 58% to 429 delayed days.

Newham reported only a 5% increase in delays because of patients awaiting nursing home placement or availability, only a 10% increase in delays for patient or family choice. Haringey reported an 18% decrease in delays for awaiting nursing home placement or availability and a 4% decrease in delays for patient or family choice in the same period.

The data was published in the statistical section of the NHS England website. The Waltham Forest Echo was directed to the data by the Bureau Local.

Waltham Forest is unusual in that “awaiting nursing home placement or availability” is the largest reason for delays. Jessica​ Morris, a researcher for the Nuffield Trust, said: “Nationally, the most common reason for a delayed transfer of care is ‘awaiting a care package in your own home’.” She added: “‘awaiting community equipment and adaptations’ comes quite low in terms of reasons for delay nationally.”

A spokesperson from Whipps Cross Hospital said: “We are committed to addressing delayed transfers of care and over the past year we have made good progress in improving performance in the face of rising demand.” The data shows a 10% decrease for April to December 2019, compared with the year before. The spokesperson added: “The vast majority of patients we see return home to their families with appropriate levels of support and further rehabilitation/reablement as necessary to maximise their independence.”