Plan to solve bed blocking unveiled

8:45pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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A hospital has opened up 15 extra beds to care for bed blocking patients.

The beds at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton are being paid for by Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust (PCT).

They are specifically for elderly patients who no longer need urgent medical treatment but have not recuperated enough to be able to go home.

The beds are needed as the PCT hunts for suitable alternative space elsewhere in Brighton and Hove.

The move follows the decision at the end of last year to close the intermediate care wards at Brighton General Hospital, which had almost 50 beds, and transfer patients to the Newhaven Rehabilitation Centre.

Up to 32 patients can be cared for there with the rest based based at alternative locations in the city.

However the PCT has experienced problems in finding suitable sites and asked hospital managers to make the beds available there.

Members of the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust board were told the extra beds were a temporary measure until the end of May while the PCT continued its search.

Trust chief operating officer Michael Wilson said: "A lot of work is being done to sort out this issue and it is being closely monitored all the time."

Bed blocking patients have a knock-on effect for the hospital when it is particularly busy and has to admit more emergency cases.

Patients could find themselves waiting longer in A&E while waiting for a bed to become available.