Patients trapped at UHCW as bed-blocking crisis deepens in Coventry

Patients have been stuck at Coventry University Hospital for weeks amid a bed-blocking crisis in England. It continues to put enormous pressure on the NHS in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Figures from NHS England have found that more than half of available hospital beds are off-limits due to delayed discharges at NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England. Around 12,700 people a day are being told they can’t leave despite being medically fit, according to Patient Claim Line.

It means 53% of patients who no longer meet the criteria are ‘blocking up’ hospital beds across England. Coventry and Warwickshire was found to have the second highest percentage of medically fit patients waiting to be discharged, including at Coventry University Hospital in Walsgrave.

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Patients may be told they cannot leave for reasons such as waiting for a bed to become available in a nursing home or waiting for medications to be taken home, according to Patient Claim Line. The statistics showed that Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) had the second highest percentage of bed-blocking patients at a staggering 67% on 30 April.

Birmingham and Solihull were worst affected, with 80% of beds “blocked” by patients who no longer needed treatment, according to Patient Claim Line. Behind Coventry and Warwickshire were Chesire and Merseyside, where 65% of available beds were occupied by patients well enough to be discharged.

The data showed that 108,638 patients in England had more than 21 extra bed days in April 2024. According to the Kings Fund, the cost of delayed discharges is £395 per night, making these extra days worth NHS over £858 million.

Jennifer Argent, solicitor at Patient Claim Line, said: “It is disappointing to see a significant number of patients occupying beds who do not meet the criteria to live in hospitals. This not only affects the number of beds available for patient care, but has the potential to cause distress to patients who experience unnecessarily long hospital stays.”

Ms Argent added: “If you have been unable to receive safe and timely treatment due to a lack of available hospital beds, you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.”

Officials at NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board told CoventryLive that the figures do not include a submission from George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust which makes them “incomplete”. A spokesman said they were therefore not an “accurate representation of the discharge figures for Coventry and Warwickshire”.

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