Lib Dem health spokesperson ess Brown-Fuller says NHS delays are driven by a lack of social care, leaving patients stuck in hospital and staff burnt out.
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00:00We know that the NHS has been at a breaking point for a long time and staff that are working there are totally burnt out.
00:07They are doing everything they can, but we're not addressing the elephant in the room, which is social care.
00:12I will use an example from my local hospital trust.
00:15There was a patient that had been 305 days beyond being fit enough to be discharged,
00:21but there was not a social care package available for him in the community.
00:25So he was stuck in a hospital, not getting better, not having the opportunity to convalesce.
00:31And if those people are stuck in hospital beds, unable to find a social care package,
00:34then it puts pressure on the other sections, on the emergency departments, because there are then no beds available.
00:40So unless the government really get to grips with the social care crisis in the NHS,
00:46they will never do what they are intending to do, which is reduce the waiting lists and take the burden off secondary care.