RECRUITMENT problems are behind a spike in bed-blocking figures, it was claimed last night.

Oxfordshire was the worst place in England for bed-blocking last month, according to figures from the Government’s Department of Health.

A one day snapshot of so called ‘delayed transfers of care’, from hospitals to community care, showed 163 patients were stuck on wards after they were declared fit to leave – up from 152 in August.

Dr Stephen Richards, pictured, the GP chair of Acceptable Care for Everyone — a new group set up to tackle the problem — said they were struggling to fill some 50 community nursing posts.

He said: “It is still taking too long, there is no doubt about that.

“We have a few recruitment issues.

“We cannot get the people to do the hands-on care, whether it is in the home or indeed the community hospitals.”

Birmingham previously was at the bottom of the table.

An extra £6.1m of Government cash is already being spent on tackling bed-blocking through five new initiatives.

They include a hospital-at-home-nurse service, and the ‘whole system approach’, which provides care closer to home for people who might otherwise go to hospital.

Last week Dr Stephens warned the county’s bed blocking figures will get worse before they get better, because they are being properly calculated for the first time.