THE number of people stuck in Oxfordshire hospital beds unnecessarily has risen once again.
During April, 139 people ready to move on from hospital were left stranded in wards.
The previous month saw 137 patients, who were well enough to go home, waiting in wards for the correct care to be put in place so they could be moved on.
The patients are either waiting for a place in a residential home, community hospital or for adjustments to be made to their home and a care package put in place so they can return.
The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust said the crisis was now costing it at least £3.3m a year.
Earlier this month the Oxford Mail reported that in March patients fit to leave hospital spent a total of 4,742 days stuck in their beds. The figures ranked Oxfordshire the second worst performing local authority area in Britain, after Birmingham.
Now that figure has dipped to 3,933, but the county is still ranked second worst.
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