Care homes to take NHS winter admissions

Private care homes have the capacity to support hard-pressed acute hospitals in winter. This is because private care homes are busier in summer than in winter. More than five times as many people accessed short-stay services in a Bupa care home in June than any other month of the year. This is usually to give family carers a break, or for older people to use them to recuperate after illness or treatments. 68% of people who selected a Bupa care home for a short stay, did so for May and June. Yet few short-stay admissions are made to care homes during the winter months according to Bupa research despite this being the period when the NHS is often under greatest stress from flu, winter bugs’ and bad weather injuries. Bupa argues therefore that there is capacity for care homes to take more of the winter stress and relieve the burden on hard-pressed NHS hospitals, and that commissioners could take more advantage of short-stay care as an option throughout the year. Managing director of Bupa Care Services, Andrew Cannon said: Greater integration of the health and social care systems can have real benefits for the NHS and for patients. Care homes can help to ease the seasonal pressure on acute hospital beds by providing responsive and flexible short-stay care. Avoiding unnecessary admissions and supporting earlier discharges from hospitals would save money for the NHS and ease people back into their own homes faster.’