This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Record delays in discharging patients
Figures from NHS England have shown that NHS hospitals are facing record levels of delays in discharging patients.
Caused by a lack of available care in the community, delays in discharge mean that vulnerable patients are left on wards while arrangements are made for them to be safely discharged.
With the NHS continuing to miss its key waiting time goals, July figures highlight that there were nearly 185,000 days of delays - up a quarter on July figures in 2015.
The A&E target has only been achieved twice in two years, while ambulances have failed to hit their target to respond to the most life-threatening calls for the past 14 months.
Lengthy delays have negative effects on services throughout hospitals, with A&E care often taking the hit.
Nigel Edwards, of the Nuffield Trust health think-tank, said: "The days of a traditional summer respite for the NHS are gone for good. The figure for delays in discharging patients from hospital is particularly worrying.
"What's more, I am very concerned that these official figures systematically understate the true scale of the problem - I think NHS England and the Department of Health should look more rigorously at the way they calculate these delays.
"The NHS stands no chance of transforming the way care is delivered to patients while it is still struggling with this problem".
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