This is the number of beds being blocked each day at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals

With elderly patients often waiting to be signed off, there is concern over the impact delays can have on their health. The NHS says a hospital stay of more than 10 days for a person over 80 can lead to 10 years of muscle ageing.

NHS England figures show that in February, patients at the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spent a total of 440 days waiting to be discharged or transferred.

A delayed transfer of care occurs when a patient remains in a bed after being officially declared safe for transfer by both a doctor and a multidisciplinary team, which could include social or mental health care workers.

The figures show half of the delays were caused by problems within the NHS, like waiting for a bed in a rehabilitation centre or mental health hospital.

Half were caused by problems with social careThe rest were problems in both sectors.

The Care Quality Commission said that it recommends a more joined-up approach to health and social care to tackle delays.

Across England, an average of 4,546 beds were blocked each day in February. At Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, bed blocking has fallen slightly, from 20 beds each day in February 2018 to 16 this year.

Janet Barnsley, Interim Director of Planned Care at Blackpool, said: “One of the Trust’s aims is to reduce length of stay where it is appropriate and a lot of work has been undertaken in this area to strengthen links with partners because we realise that longer than expected hospital stays can impact on the patient.

“We work closely with health and social care colleagues to look where we can improve and have taken steps. including appointing new discharge facilitators to help patients receive appropriate care and developing new pathways of care for the assessment of complex patients.

“We have also made real improvements to our ward tracker system that allows staff to identify delays much quicker than previously.”