Care beds shortage sees unfair pressure to take relatives discharged, says peer

A shortage of care home beds is seeing undue and unfair pressure put on people to take relatives discharged from hospital despite being unable to cope, ministers have been told.

Peers at Westminster heard of the plight of a frail 87-year-old woman who was “induced” to accept at home her 91-year-old husband following a fall with a promise of nursing support that had failed to be provided.

The Government has said no one should be “forced to accept the care of somebody” if they were unable to look after them.

The case of the elderly couple was raised by Labour peer and deputy speaker Baroness Pitkeathley during questions in the House of Lords.

She said: “With the pressure on hospitals to discharge people and the lack of nursing and residential care beds, would the minister agree that sometimes undue and unfair pressure is put on families on carers to accept discharge in an unsuitable situation.

“Such as the 87-year-old carer to whom I spoke last week, herself frail and with very severe angina, was induced, and I use the word advisedly, to accept discharge of her 91-year-old husband, still immobile after a fall, with a promise of twice daily visits from the community nurse, which of course have not yet materialised.”

Responding, Health Minister Lord O’Shaughnessy said: “Clearly, it should not be the case that anyone is induced or otherwise forced to accept the care of somebody for whom they are not capable of caring.”

With an ageing population the number of hospital admissions for operations was increasing and so “much more capacity” was needed in the care system, he added.

Lord O’Shaughnessy earlier highlighted latest figures which showed on an average day in August this year, 1,5764 beds were occupied by patients waiting to be discharged to nursing or residential care homes.

Opposition spokesman Lord Hunt of Kings Heath said that was “a big number” and raised concerns over the loss of nursing home places and pressure on hospitals.

_{Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2017, All Rights Reserved.}