Islanders stuck in hospital for longer as care crisis bites

Tuesday 22 February 2022

Islanders are ending up stuck in hospital for longer than they should be due to staffing struggles among care homes and home care providers, a new report has shown.

Figures from the Health Department's latest Quality and Performance review show the number of stays in hospital exceeding seven days were above set standard for nine months out of 12 in 2021.

They peaked at 1,966 in June 2021 and were then consistently in amber or red for the last five months of the year.

Meanwhile, the number of patients whose discharge was delayed increased over the same period, jumping from 21 in June to 38 in December.

Both increases were caused by a lack of capacity within the domiciliary home care market and care home market, Health said in its report. 

CLICK TO ENLARGE: The number of lengthy hospital stays peaked in June 2021 with 1,966.

They explained that a “discharge support team” had been implemented to support patients with short term care at home as they wait for capacity with a mainstream provider.

The release of the report comes just a few weeks after LV Care, a local care provider, raised the alarm about struggles facing the care sector.

They said that islanders were finding it increasingly difficult to get the choice of care they wanted, with Home Care Manager Kalina Syvret revealing she was receiving calls daily from social workers, relatives, and clients seeking assistance. 

“With care homes virtually full, and many people wanting to stay in their homes, it’s putting increasing pressure on providers,” she said. 

“There just isn’t enough care for the amount of people who need it.”

Pictured: Many local care homes are nearing capacity.

Ms Syvret said they had heard some people had tried every service in the island, many of which were at capacity with clients and with staff absences because of covid. 

“It means people must stay in hospital while they wait for a care package to be put in place,” she added

“We will always try to help people, but while it’s inevitable that there will be some cases that are as a result of an unexpected incident, many issues could have been prepared for if people had discussed their needs and put some contingency plans in place.”

Contacted by Express, the Government said many care workers had been unable to work due to sickness or isolation requirements during the pandemic resulting in increased pressure on capacity in care homes and within the domiciliary care sector.

“It is well recognised that there is a shortage of carers globally,” a spokesperson said. “It is also recognised that with a growing, ageing population and more people preferring to be cared for within their own home, that more carers are required.”

Pictured: “It is well recognised that there is a shortage of carers globally,” a Government spokesperson said.

The Government said they had sought to address the “chronic shortage” through its Help at Home campaign which aimed to encourage more islanders to become carers by highlighting the benefits of working in the sector such as job flexibility and career progression. 

However, while the £22,000 advertising campaign aimed to recruit 100 new community home care assistants, at the beginning of the month, only 24 applications had been received, with 14 people offered employment and nine in role.

This morning, the Government put out an advert for the Help at Home programme, asking islanders, "Are you looking to top up your salary with a few extra hours?"

Health also said a new initiative forming part of the Jersey Care Model would aim to help improve the discharge process from hospital this year.

“A new discharge service will help get Islanders home sooner, on short-term packages of care while an appropriate provider who can cater for their long-term care needs is identified,” they said.

“More details on this service will be announced in due course.”

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