In response to Marcus Pitcaithly’s letter about delayed transfers of care (Oxford Mail, February 2), I would like to make some important points very clear about this complicated issue.
Firstly, there are a number of reasons why patients get delayed in hospitals nationally when they are medically fit to be discharged – it is not simply down to people waiting for social care funding to become available from local authorities.
Secondly, this council was not ranked 146th out of 151 for numbers of delayed transfers of care. It was the county of Oxfordshire as a whole.
Thirdly, Oxfordshire County Council works in partnership with the NHS locally when dealing with delayed transfers of care. We are determined to continue to work closely to deal with this problem.
This work is already bearing fruit. Over recent weeks there has been a significant and continued fall in the numbers of patients who are unnecessarily being delayed in local hospitals.
Arash Fatemian, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, Oxford
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