HEALTH chiefs have responded to claims the district’s hospitals have a ‘bed-blocking’ emergency, amid reports of the problem reaching 'crisis' levels across the country.

Nationally, 115,425 bed days were lost due to delayed discharges in June, up 27 per cent from 91,102 for the same month last year.

In the first six months of this year, the highest figure for the Bradford local authority area was 438 bed days lost in April, with the number falling to 387 in June, the most recent statistic.

The average number of bed days lost during the first half of 2016 was 398, down from an average of 475 in the first six months of 2015. The June 2016 figure for Bradford of 387 bed days lost was the third highest figure for acute care in local authority areas across West Yorkshire, behind Leeds with 2,008 and Wakefield with 598.

The most common single cause of the lost days – 133 out of 387 – was attributed to patient or family choice, but delays in waiting for placements in nursing or residential homes, or care packages in patients’ own homes, was said to have led to a combined total of 198, or 51 per cent, of the total days lost.

A source claimed that ‘bed-blocking’ is currently at “unprecedented” levels in the district’s hospitals, with up to 60 patients a day deemed fit to be discharged continuing to take up beds due to there being no alternative care available.

Stacey Hunter – operations director at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Airedale Hospital – said there is “significant pressure” on the number of beds.

“There remain issues with discharging patients from hospital in relation to sufficient capacity in care homes and care packages for people at home,” she said. “This is a recognised national problem.

"We are working closely with partners in CCGs, local authorities and the care home sector to address the issues, however it remains a significant challenge for all parts of the system.

“This is, in turn, impacting upon hospital capacity and putting significant pressure on the availability of hospital beds.”

Commenting on the national picture, Vicky McDermott, chairman of the Care and Support Alliance, said: “The Government cannot continue to ignore the crisis that means patients are stuck in hospital when they could be at home.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health said the NHS had seen its “busiest June ever”, with £10 billion being invested towards a seven-day service.