A NEW hospital ward has been opened at the John Radcliffe Hospital for patients fit enough to leave, but with no where to go.

Social services last night said it was starting to cut the number of people blocking hospital beds in the county.

Government figures showed 103 people were stuck in Oxfordshire’s hospital beds in June, compared to 129 the previous month.

But Oxford Radcliffe Hospital’s Trust (ORH) figures suggested the situation had not improved as it set up a 36-bed ward to deal with people who no longer needed its treatment.

One woman, whose husband has been caught up in the bed-blocking crisis, demanded changes to the system and said she felt let down by the county council.

In June, Department of Health figures showed Oxfordshire patients, who were well enough to head home, spent a total of 3,648 days trapped in hospital beds, compared to 4,012 days the previous month.

Despite the drop, out of 153 local authorities, only Birmingham fared worse, with patients enduring 4,645 bed-bound days.

The county councillor responsible for social care, Arash Fatemian, said: “There’s been a real concerted effort by everybody to look hard at the issue and make sure we are working as effectively as possible.

“Certainly up until the most recent figures I have seen, the trend has continued, and I expect it to continue. It is not going to be a sudden change. I would expect the continuous downward trend to continue over the next few months.”

However, according to ORH figures, the numbers have not changed dramatically since April.

On a snapshot day in May, 51 people were stuck on wards at the John Radcliffe and Horton hospitals, compared to 65 in June and 57 on July 18.

Of the 57, it said 27 were waiting for beds in primary care trust-run community hospitals, while 27 were waiting for care packages to be arranged so they could head home. The trust, which loses £3.3m a year on the problem, refused to say whether the situation would improve over the coming months.

But, last week, the JR opened a new nurse-led 36 bed Post Acute Unit (PAU) to provide care for those fit enough to be discharged.

Spokeswoman Heather Barnett said: “The PAU aims to support those patients who are clinically well enough to leave an acute hospital environment and prepare for discharge.”

news@oxfordmail.co.uk Have you or any of your relatives been caught up in the county’s bed-blocking crisis? If so, call the Oxford Mail on 01865 425445.