BED blocking in Oxfordshire continues to be among the worst rates in England and is unlikely to improve due to pressures from the coronavirus.

Delayed Transfer of Care, also known as bed blocking, is when people are kept in hospital beds longer than they should be because there is not enough social care available to help them rehabilitate from injury or illness.

Oxfordshire was ranked the third worst for the problem in all of England in January, coming at 146 out of 149 councils.

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As Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet discussed the problem at its meeting on Tuesday, there were worries that extra demand on hospital beds due to the coronavirus will make the situation worse.

Lawrie Stratford, cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: “The situation has been improving over the last few weeks. However, the concerns I have in the current climate with the virus is that the pressure on hospital beds will go up.”

Herald Series:

Lawrie Stratford.

He described the pressures caused by the virus as a ‘moving feast’ and added: “None of us know the full extent of the situation, but we are on the case.”

According to the county council’s latest business management and monitoring report which covers up to January, the county’ bed blocking situation has remained an area for improvement since the last report in November.

In the report, the council ranks how well its different services are doing as either green, amber, or red.

Bed blocking due to a lack of social care has remained in the red category in both of the most-recent reports.

In February, the cabinet was given a presentation by the head of social care Stephen Chandler, who explained social care workers were being put off from living in Oxfordshire because of the high cost of living.

He added there was a particular need for social care workers specialising in reablement: a kind of healthcare where people who have a disability or injury are helped to recover so they can do daily tasks.

The latest monitoring report said better use was being made of care homes to free up hospital beds.

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On Wednesday, county council leader Ian Hudspeth joined other council chiefs in a meeting at 10 Downing Street, where special plans to free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients were discussed.

Mr Hudspeth said new measures might include the council paying for beds in care homes which are more expensive than the usual rates it is willing to pay.

Councils across the country would likely be able to claim these extra costs back from the government.

Another measure which might be taken is negotiating with pricier care homes to provide cheaper rates.