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Concerns surrounding Jersey's bed blocking challenges have resurfaced after it emerged that islanders are still facing delays leaving hospital due to shortage of carers in the community.
The Jersey Care Federation has also warned that there has been "no movement" on the issue in recent years.
'Bed blocking' is the term used for when medically fit patients remain in hospital beds due to a shortage of suitable care elsewhere.
Emily Hoban, Head of Access for Health and Community Services, told Express that last week the hospital had 32 patients who no longer needed to be there but were unable to leave.
She explained that this was "particularly due to a lack of available nursing home beds, specialist care and availability of care packages in the community".
Pictured: The hospital last week had 32 patients who no longer needed to be there but couldn't leave, driven by a lack of care availability in the community.
Ms Hoban said: “Planning for a patient’s discharge begins as soon as they are admitted to hospital, with assessments undertaken to ensure that the right arrangements are in place for when they are medically fit to leave."
She added: "Significant recruitment pressures facing the nursing and care sectors in Jersey and globally has resulted in a reduction in the availability of nursing home beds and some delays in obtaining packages of care in the island.
"This impacts our ability to discharge patients in a timely way."
The Chair of the Jersey Care Federation, Cheryl Kenealy, previously warned that the island could find itself in an "increasingly difficult position" due to the lack of local care staff.
She yesterday said there had been "no movement" on the issue of bed blocking.
Ms Kenealy reiterated the limited pool of available staff to recruit from in the island, explaining: "It's getting harder and harder to bring people over."
Pictured: Jersey Care Federation Chair Cheryl Kenealy explained that there was a limited pool of care staff to recruit in the island.
Reports published at the start of this year outlined how islanders are forecast to be seeking an additional 9% appointments with their GP by 2043, by which time the number of hospital bed days is projected to increase by 30%.
Deputy Louise Doublet, who chairs the group of politicians responsible for scrutinising Health, said: "My panel are concerned about the forward planning for the health of islanders and how our health system is going to be funded to meet increased levels of need."
This is not the first time that the issue of bed blocking has been raised as a concern in Jersey.
In 2022, the government confirmed that a lack of available care packages meant patients requiring domiciliary, nursing or residential care were having to stay on wards "for a longer time than is medically required".
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