A proposed national drive to improve delayed discharge could be a ‘huge stride forward’, the CSP has said.
The Health Service Journal reported today that NHS England is developing a ‘community recovery service’ with a 24-hour target to provide step down care once someone was deemed well enough to leave hospital.
The story made clear the plans were in their early stages but have been welcomed by the CSP.
Prof Karen Middleton, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said:
‘We strongly welcome the development of a national answer to a crisis affecting every area of the country.
‘Too many patients are left languishing in hospital long after they are well enough to go home, with often devastating consequences for their recovery and further serious pressures for the system.
‘So a service that improves that situation – with measures in place equivalent to the importance of A&E performance and other such statistics – could be a huge stride forward.
‘Any such service will require funding and a workforce to deliver it.
‘Existing rehab services are poorly resourced, both in terms of space and staff, with patients being seen in corridors by a demoralised, over-stretched physiotherapy workforce and not being able to achieve a full recovery as a result.
‘These disastrous conditions threaten to undermine the laudable intentions expressed in these plans and must be urgently addressed.’
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