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Thinktank warns that patients who remain in the hospital instead of going home are a waste of NHS resources

The NHS should ensure that patients and the frail elderly in the hospital more quickly to the open spaces of the bed of the value and service to overcome financial difficulties, health experts have warned.

A new analysis of the use of beds in NHS hospitals Fund influential think tank the King must do more to help seniors who have suffered a stroke hip, pneumonia or broken to return home more quickly so as not to waste resources.

The report urges the leaders of hospitals to reduce the number small, but disproportionately in older patients and the elderly who come to the emergency, but end up staying at least a couple of weeks, a cost of £ 200 per night, often after recovering. The NHS in England can not keep treating these patients for so long if you have a chance to reach the target set by the government to find £ 20 billion in efficiency gains by 2015, warns King's Fund.

Since acute hospitals must provide 8 billion £ 20 billion pounds to "reduce the unnecessary use of hospitals is a unique opportunity to realize significant savings," says the study. The NHS in England could save over £ 1 billion per year, ensuring that patients both elective and emergency leave hospital earlier, the NHS Institute for Innovation and improved estimates.

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procedures is under control, especially since medical advances, the average length of stay after surgery and hip replacement surgery has been reduced. Although these patients represent 55% of all hospital admissions, which employ fewer than 30% of hospital days in total. "This means reducing the use of beds in emergency admission offers greater opportunity to achieve an overall reduction in the use of hospital beds," the institute.

NHS figures show that the number of patients admitted in emergency, the number of occupied bed days and total stays of at least two days have increased since 2007. This trend was not sustainable, because the NHS is facing its most difficult challenge of financial memory alive, said the executive director of the King's Fund chief, Professor Chris Ham.

patients occupy up to 42% to 55% of hospital days would be treated at home, with or without medical support, or in a nursing home rather than in hospitals. . "This change of scenery, if any, would also save money - the costs of acute hospital around £ 200 per day and the rate of private nursing homes are less than 100 pounds per day," explains study

Ham adds: "This analysis is a warning shot for the NHS A large proportion of hospital budgets are in a small proportion of patients is a waste of NHS resources .. We must use this. resources more efficiently by identifying this small group of older patients with complex needs. "

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