NHS in crisis: Hundreds of patients stuck in Yorkshire hospital awaiting discharge as leader warns care homes must not be blamed

The situation – known as bed-blocking – has been given as one of the reasons why patients are facing extreme waiting times for beds after coming to A&Es across the region.

But Mike Padgham, the leader of the Independent Care Group and owner of St Cecilia’s care home in Scarborough, has said a recruitment crisis in social care caused by low wages means there are no quick fixes to finding places.

Some 123 people fit for discharge were in beds in York and Scarborough hospitals as of this week, with a further 50 in Harrogate.

Nationwide, on December 30, there were more than 12,000 beds taken up by patients medically fit for discharge.

Mr Padgham said: “We’ve been warning about what’s been happening in social care for a long time.

"This is worse than covid now. There are 165,000 vacancies in England. That figure is going in the wrong direction.

"Whilst we would want to provide care in people’s own homes or provide a place where they can go on discharge, it’s not proving possible because we’re losing staff to other industries such as hospitality.

"Say someone needs one or two visits a day [in their own home]. That’s quite resource intensive and the staff just aren’t there.”

Mr Padgham urged medics to stop using the term bed-blocking and instead refer to it as delayed discharge.”It’s not the people in the bed at fault, or the staff. It’s not social care’s fault either,” he said. “Social care isn’t the problem: it’s the answer.

"We’ve been ignored for the past three decades in social care which should work hand in hand with the NHS.

"Social care has always been a poor relation for funding and continues to be so.”

Speaking about morale in the sector, Mr Padgham said: “Staff are worn out working long shifts after the last few years. We've just come through a festive season which has been been hard work.

"They're exhausted, I guess is what I would say.

"We’re getting to the limit of our capacity. The system is fractured, the quality of care generally is delivered at the most basic levels.”

While former Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke about his “plan” to fix social care on the steps of Downing Street, his successor Rishi Sunak has yet to make any decisive action on the sector since his premiership began.

A key speech given by Mr Sunak earlier this week said he would “provide new funding to discharge people into social care and the community, freeing up beds,” but no significant detail was given.

Mike Padgham said: “There was nothing new in what he said about funding, and that’s disappointing. The issue has been glossed at the top.

"Reforms have been put on the back burner again and that’s happened from Tony Blair through now to Rishi.

"I know the Prime Minister has got lots on his plate, but this could have been avoided years and years ago.”

But Mr Sunak is set to host an NHS Recovery Forum, with experts from the health and care sectors convening in Downing Street today, it was announced on Friday night.

The forum is set to focus on four crucial issues: social care and delayed discharge; urgent and emergency care; elective care; and primary care.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “As the Prime Minister made clear this week, easing the immediate pressures whilst also focusing on the long-term improvement of the NHS is one of his key promises.

“That’s why we’re bringing together the best minds from the health and care sectors to help share knowledge and practical solutions so that we can tackle the most crucial challenges such as delayed discharge and emergency care."